Originally the fixture was slated to be a tantalising battle between the touring Lautoka Provincial Team and fellow under 19s talents in the Invitation Australian Indigenous All Stars.

However, visa issues saw the planned 10-day tour by the Fijian provincial team - an outfit coached by 2005 World Cup winning mentor Sirelli Buli - cancelled on Friday afternoon.

With All Stars coach Dave Conyers having already organised his squad, which included Stannies flyhalf Joe Williams, CSU flanker Paul Mongta-Cruse plus Dubbo trio Jarrod Wilson, Dale Smith and Jason Fleming, he still wanted a game to go ahead.

The plan was to organise a Bathurst Select outfit - using players from CSU, Bathurst Bulldogs and Saint Stanislaus' College - to take on the All Stars.

Two hours before kick-off, Bathurst Select coach Scott Hatch only had three players. He scrapped together a handful more, but then came a golden oldies rescue.

It meant the game, split into four periods of 20 minutes went ahead. The All Stars eventually emerged 43-20 victors, but they had to work hard for the win.

"The golden oldies had a festival out there with three or four teams so six of them - 35-year-old guys - put their hands up and said they'd come and help. It was incredible," Conyers said.

"They ended up playing in the forward pack and were beating the Indigenous boys 13-0 at one stage. The old blokes would churn up the middle and control the ball, they were making sense out of being older.

"It was pretty close at half-time, it was 20-17 to the Bathurst select, but in the second half we ended up running away with it."

Conyers said the atmosphere of the match was " just a real celebration" and his side - who had earlier been presented their jumpers by Tony Mundine - enjoyed the experience.

"There was only one high tackle in the whole game - Pearcy [Nathan Pearce] was refereeing. He asked all the players 'What penalty should we give him? Should we give him a yellow card?'," he said. "They all said no to that, so Pearcy said 'How about he does 10 push ups?'

"It was just great, it was really in the spirit of the whole game."