Matt Luamanu now knows exactly how Chicken Licken felt.

The North Harbour loose forward was warming up before yesterday's ITM Cup match with Bay of Plenty when the crossbar from Rotorua International Stadium's goalposts fell down on his head, chipping a tooth.

Witnesses saw a ball hit the crossbar, knocking it off, but all Luamanu saw were stars.

"I was leaning against the post warming my shoulders up and it went bang," Luamanu said.

"Luckily I was just trying out headgear this week - if I wasn't wearing it, it probably would have cut my head right open.

"It was a real shock and I was bit dazed - it was like something hit me from the sky."

The match, which Bay of Plenty won 39-29, was delayed by 10 minutes as officials rushed to fix the crossbar. Eventually, a hasty combination of rope and duct tape had the bar horizontal and in place again.

"It's the first time I've ever had to delay a game but we had to make sure player safety was paramount," Bay of Plenty Rugby Union official Mike Rogers said.

"We did a pre-game check and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary but the stadium officials are pretty concerned and they'll be making sure it won't be happening again."

Luamanu recovered quickly and made an impact coming on in the second half but the injuries kept mounting - at one stage, both teams had to put substituted players back on for injuries.

Steamers lock Luke Andrews and Harbour prop Ben Afeaki were involved in a sickening first-half head clash, and to cap a bizarre night, referee Shaun Elliott pulled a calf and was replaced by Tauranga's Bryce Lawrence at halftime.