Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Springboks name replacement after tour-ending Ruan Nortje injury

Ruan Nortje gets medical attention away to Argentina in September (Photo by Rodrigo Valle/Getty Images)

Munster second row Jean Kleyn has been called up by the Springboks for their three-match Autumn Nations Series following a training ground injury to Ruan Nortje. The Boks are preparing this week for Sunday’s November opener away to Scotland but they have lost Nortje to a midweek leg injury.

ADVERTISEMENT

Nortje will now fly home to South Africa and will be replaced by Rugby World Cup winner Kleyn, who will link up with the squad in Edinburgh on Friday from his base in Ireland.

An SA Rugby statement read: “Rugby World Cup-winning lock Jean Kleyn will join the Springboks in Edinburgh on Friday as a replacement for Ruan Nortje, who suffered a leg injury at training on Wednesday, which ruled him out of the tour.

Video Spacer

Springbok wing Makazole Mapimpi accepts his World Cup fate

Springbok wing Makazole Mapimpi accepts that his time on the playing field is nearing an end.

Video Spacer

Springbok wing Makazole Mapimpi accepts his World Cup fate

Springbok wing Makazole Mapimpi accepts that his time on the playing field is nearing an end.

“The 31-year-old Kleyn, who earned his seventh Test cap for the Springboks in the RWC final against New Zealand in France last year, returns to the national team for the first time this season after making a return to the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in September for Irish club Munster following a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to an eye injury.

“Nortje – who made a strong statement in the Boks’ engine room this season which saw him assist the team to The Rugby Championship title – hurt his leg during Wednesday’s field training session, and with only three Test matches on this tour, Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus opted to draft Kleyn into the travelling squad.

Team Form

Last 5 Games

4
Wins
4
1
Streak
3
30
Tries Scored
20
114
Points Difference
72
4/5
First Try
4/5
3/5
First Points
3/5
4/5
Race To 10 Points
4/5

“Kleyn’s international experience with five Test matches to his name for Ireland and seven for the Springbok as well as a RWC title, adds valuable experience to the Bok lock stocks for the tour, where he joins the likes of RG Snyman, Franco Mostert and Eben Etzebeth.”

Erasmus, who will name his team on Friday to face the Scots, said: “It’s sad to lose Ruan to injury, as he has had a fantastic season and really made a strong statement after injuries initially prompted his call-up to the squad. He certainly grabbed the opportunity with both hands, and we wish him luck with his recovery.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Ruan’s injury opens the door for Jean to make a return to the national squad for the first time this season, and judging by his performances for Munster since making a comeback to the URC combined with his familiarity of our structures and being a regular in our team last season, we are excited to welcome him back.

“He has also played with most of the players in the squad and is familiar with the conditions in the UK as he is based in Ireland, so he should slot in with ease.”

Related

Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 tickets application phase is now open! Apply now.

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

287 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Tyrone Green decision has huge bearing on his international future Tyrone Green decision has huge bearing on his international future
Search