The clash kicked off the Boks' now-legendary 1937 tour of Australia and New Zealand, with the team going on to completely dominate both nations and earn a reputation as "Invincibles".

However, Orange's place in the historic sporting saga has been relegated to little-more than a footy-footnote in the dustbin of history ... until now.

Trawling through dozens of newspaper archives and sporting records from the time, we've pieced together what went down that afternoon on the green-top fortress of Wade Park.

The sun was shining through a clear blue sky in Orange on Wednesday June 16, 1937 - though icy winds from the peak of Mount Canobolas kept the air brisk.

Billed as a "brilliant game of football" promising "dazzling displays", promoters had been hyping the fixture for weeks.

After all, some of the biggest names in world rugby were promised: Fullback and prolific goalkicker Gerry Brand of Capetown would captain the side, backed by fullback Pierre de Villiers, and loose-forward Ferdie Bergh.

Eager fans flocked to the gates on Moulder Street from early afternoon, forking out 5 pence for a place on the hill.

As the scheduled 3.30pm kick-off approached, the crowd ticked over to 3000 - a mighty turnout, considering Orange's population was just shy of 10,000 at the time.

The 33-strong Springbok squad had caught a train from Bathurst the evening prior, and stayed overnight at Theatre Orange on Summer Street.

Players not selected ran training drills on the Wolaroi College oval, while the starting-15 journeyed 800m across town to the main event.

The visiting team received a warm reception as they jogged onto the field, though it was the hometown-heroes - largely comprising amateur players from Wellington, Orange, and Bathurst - who received the loudest applause.

It's unclear who wore the captain's armband for the Combined West XV, however the backline comprised: T. Dray, O. Mckibbin, I. Mckibbin, P. Deehan, J. Smith, A. Emms, and E. Lay.

G. Chew, F. Purnell, R. Gordon, F. Brown, T. Ewart, S. Bullock, P. Morrissey, and A. Stubberfield made up the forwards.

By all accounts, the intensity was relentless from the first whistle blown by referee D. Jones - and the home-team's significant size deficit was immediately obvious.

A lighting-blitz put the 'Boks up 26-0 within just 15 minutes, though the Westerners were able to regroup and restrict the damage to 'just' 29-0 at half-time.

Brand's thunderous left-boot combined with unpredictable high winds to put home-fullback Dray under relentless pressure.

"The heavy forwards dominated the scrums, winning the ball continually so that the Western backs did not have much chance of getting a move on," The Wellington Times reported.

"On the rare occasions on which they gained possession, the fast forwards were on top of them before they could pass it out."

Brown, Ewart, and Mckibbin were the strongest of the home players, according to The Northern Star.

Despite their best efforts and reports of a late counter attack however, a miracle wasn't to be; By the time the clock hit 80 minutes the South Africans had stretched their lead to 63-0.

The runaway-victory comprised 13 tries (then only worth 3 points), with nine conversions and two penalty goals - all slotted by Brand.

The Forbes Advocate praised the visiting team's "complete knowledge of the game, coupled with speedy tactics and faultless handling ..."

"The Springboks gave one of the finest displays of Rugby Union seen in New South Wales for some time, and certainly the most brilliant exhibition the West has known for years."

A function was held that night for the touring South Africans at the Royal Hall, before further events at the Strand Palais and then the Rotary Club.

The visitors left for Sydney at midnight, having made a herculean impression in their little-over 24 hours in Orange.

They would go on to play seven more matches in Australia on the tour, winning all but one against NSW - before crossing the Tasman and downing the All Blacks in a historic three-match battle.

The Springboks returned to Orange once more, 34 years later in July 1971 - However, the match was marred by controversy.

Hoards of protesters amassed outside the ground to oppose the racist South African policy of apartheid that had been introduced two decades earlier.

A woman reportedly chained herself to the goalposts over a cold night, and police officers were brought in to maintain order outside the crowd of 6300.

The on constant between both match was the visitors' dominance, dispatching NSW Country 19-3.

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