South Africa A class of 2017 against French Barbarians: What happened to them?

The fact that the South Africa A side was last outfitted against the French Barbarians back in 2017 speaks to how infrequently used that platform has been in the past five years.

A packed calendar and Covid-19 meant the experiment simply had no time to be fitted into a schedule that's already problematic from a player welfare perspective.

Indeed, the years 2016 and 2017 were rich for the team coached by then-Lions mentor Johan Ackermann.

Ackermann was chest-deep in his successful spell with the Lions that saw him reach two consecutive Super Rugby finals.

The 2016 series against the England Saxons - which saw matches being played in Bloemfontein and George while the Boks were on duty against Ireland - was lost 2-0.

The 2017 group against the French Barbarians had a clean-sweep in the same way the Boks, coached by Allister Coetzee, swept the dour French 3-0.

From the 2016 group, seven players proceeded to become Springboks while five others were already capped by then.

The 2017 group had a mix of youth and experience, with capped Springboks, along with a group of in-form players and some who were bubbling under.

Here's what happened to them:

Lwazi Mvovo

Mvovo, who played at fullback and wing in both games, had played the last of his 17 Tests, but was still an experienced asset in terms of guiding the youngsters in this group and at the Sharks. He retired in 2021 at the age of 34.

Warrick Gelant

Gelant, who has played bit-part roles for the Boks as a World Cup winner and a starring one for the Stormers in last season's United Rugby Championship, was at the Bulls during this period.

His stay there was a fruitful one, but one that was also plagued by untimely injuries. He would go on to make his debut against Italy later that year and