Jean Kleyn has dismissed Joseph Dweba’s fiery comments as “a load of puff”, as Munster and the DHL Stormers gear up for the Vodacom URC final on Saturday.
It was Munster’s shock win over Leinster in the semi-finals that enabled the Stormers to host the final at a sold-out Cape Town Stadium, after the title-holders beat Connacht.
There has been much talk in Ireland about a video that showed the Stormers players and coaches, who watched the second semi-final at the ground, celebrating Munster’s win.
During the celebrations, Dweba got caught up in the emotions and claimed that the Stormers would thump Munster.
Quoted in the Irish Examiner, SA-born Ireland international Kleyn, who joined Munster from the Stormers in 2016, said: “D’you know what? I didn’t actually see the video myself. I don’t really take to go looking for those kinds of things and it didn’t cross my path.
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“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.”
In a Stormers media conference on Monday, forwards coach Rito Hlungwani defended Dweba, adding that the Capetonians only have the utmost respect for the one side they have yet to beat in the URC.
Kleyn added: “Ah, look, I think once again we’re reading way too much into it. 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.”
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