Jean Kleyn dismisses Stormers celebration video as 'a load of puff' before URC final

The social media snapshot was posted shortly after Jack Crowley’s drop goal saw off tournament favourites Leinster.

IDEA DISMISSED: Jean Kleyn. Photo by Sportsfile

Jean Kleyn has dismissed any idea that Graham Rowntree’s men will look for motivation from the video of Stormers players and coaches as the latter celebrated Munster’s last-gasp defeat of Leinster in the URC semi-final.

The social media snapshot was posted shortly after Jack Crowley’s drop goal saw off the tournament favourites in the Aviva Stadium: a result that confirmed a home decider for the South African franchise this Saturday instead of another long-haul flight to Dublin.

“D'you know what? I didn't actually see the video myself,” said Kleyn. “I don't really take to go looking for those kinds of things and it didn't cross my path. I heard a lot about it, though. Look, any team that gets a home final would be delighted with it, you know?

“Whatever was said in the video, or whatever happened, I'm not sure. But from my perspective, if the roles were reversed, we'd be delighted as well. So, yeah, I've heard a lot of talk about the video but to be honest, it's all a load of puff.

“Any team getting a home final after thinking they'd be playing Leinster away - when that's your other option - I think Munster at home seems pretty good. But I'd say we'll see on Saturday what the result leads to.” 

The defending champions, who watched the second semi-final in their stadium’s hospitality section after seeing off Connacht earlier that day, will now have the vast majority of the 55,000 crowds on their side at the DHL Stadium this weekend.

However, Stormers hooker Joseph Dweba was heard in the video – since deleted – declaring that John Dobson’s team were “gonna f*** them up” and there is no doubting but that Munster are perceived as less of a threat than their provincial counterparts.

Rito Hlungwani, the Stormers forwards coach, has since voiced his respect for Munster – who they have not yet beaten in the URC - but added that Dweba was a man who usually backed up any words uttered with his actions on the pitch.

“Ah, look, I think once again we're reading way too much into it,” said Kleyn who joined Munster from the Stormers in 2016. “I think from the players' standpoint, you can't exactly have your coach go, 'Oh, no, we're definitely not going to do that...'

“We are trying to read way too much into it. I’d say they were obviously a few beers into it after the (Connacht) game, things were said, and you can’t back down after saying something like that. We know we are very much up for the battle.” 

Kleyn made for an interesting interviewee three days out from the game.

He spoke passionately but clearly about the belief in the Munster side, how it survived the five defeats in seven opening rounds to the league season and the manner in which it mushroomed as those losses began to turn into victories.

Rowntree has credited the tight-knit nature of the group in recent weeks to, in some part, the roll call of games they have had to play and win on the road, the latest of them being that 16-15 win over Leinster in Ballsbridge.

Peter O’Mahony saw through the elation of that win when making the point that it would count for nothing if Munster couldn’t succeed in Cape Town as well although there is an argument here of a province playing with house money given the season’s arc.

Down and out – seemingly – after those losses to Glasgow Warriors and the Bulls in early spring, they have resurrected their campaign what, at the time, would have been seen as an unlikely run of victories but Kleyn doesn’t see this as bonus territory.

Anything but.

“Well, we are absolutely not in bonus territory. There's nothing bonus about this. This is what we play for, this is what we've been working the last 48 weeks towards. It's a final, it wasn't a victory over Leinster in the semi-final.

“In the greater scheme of things that means absolutely nothing to us. Like, why should a victory over Leinster in a semi-final be bigger than a victory over the reigning champions at their home ground?

“You've flown 10,000 kilometres to play in front of a crowd of 55,000 people, of which maybe 53,000 will be Stormers supporters. How is that overshadowed by a victory over Leinster?

“Look, I'm not taking anything away from the victory over Leinster, it was obviously a very big thing for us but that's not the be-all and end-all. That's not why we play. Munster isn't there to beat Leinster, Munster is there to win championships.” 

Out-half Ben Healy and second-row RG Snyman, both of whom are going through the return-to-play protocols after recent head injuries, trained on Wednesday and are expected to be available for selection for the final.