Ireland rugby international Jean Kleyn has been called up to the South Africa squad

Kleyn, who was born in South Africa and qualified for Ireland for immigration reasons, completed five tests for his adopted country in 2019.

The massive suspension played a key role in Munster’s URC title win this season but was overlooked by Andy Farrell’s 42-man World Cup training team.

World Rugby changed its eligibility requirements in January 2022 to allow some players to change country affiliations despite having previously played international rugby.

Players must meet the following criteria to request an immediate transfer.

• The player must retire from international rugby for 36 months
• The player must either be born in the country they wish to move to, or have one of their parents or grandparents born in that country
• Under the revised Regulation 8 criteria, a player may change unions only once and each case requires the approval of the World Rugby Regulations Committee to maintain integrity

Back-row RG Snyman from Munster has also been called up to the squad after suffering numerous injury problems over the past two years. There was no room for Leinster striker Jason Jenkins.

In the squad announcement, South Africa Rugby said a decision on Kleyn’s availability is “expected soon”.