Munster lock Jean Kleyn linked with Top 14's Bayonne

SUMMER FAREWELL? Jean Kleyn celebrates with Jack O'Donoghue and Jean Kleyn. Pic: Ben Brady, Inpho

BAYONNE have joined the list of suitors for Munster's Springbok second row Jean Kleyn, who looks set to leave the province next summer.

Kleyn (32), whose contract expires in June, is high on Bayonne's wanted list though there is the complication of his South Africa ambitions heading into the 2027 World Cup.

Kleyn has spent almost a decade in Ireland but is likely to move on from Munster next June, with at least three Top 14 clubs, including big guns Toulouse and Bordeaux Begles, linked with the 125kg lock.

He won five caps for Ireland before switching his international allegiances to his country of birth.

Rugbyrama, the French-based website of Midi Olympique, reported Wednesday that Bayonne made their play for Kleyn in a video conference call this week, but adds: "The case seems complex, because if the interest of Aviron Bayonnais is real, the player is also one of the players regularly called up by Rassie Erasmus and his Springbok staff. This could be a sticking point." 

Kleyn started for the world champions against Italy ten days ago. If he moved to France, he'd be the only current Springbok to ply his trade in the Top 14 with a number of leading Boks returning to South African franchises in the last year or so.

Bayonne aren't short of international talent in the second row - Argentina's Lucas Paulos and Scotland's Ewan Johnson are already on the roster. Bayonne skipper Arthur Iturria is also under contract until 2027 but the club - who currently sit eighth with six wins from their ten games - are now scanning the market for another big second row. Rugbyrama added: "The contacts made with Kleyn are indicative of the ambition of last season's semi-finalist who, after having ratified the arrivals of Léo Coly and Rob du Preez, wants to add another powerhouse to their pack."