Bay of Plenty's NPC victory over Northland has been marred by concerning scenes, as Taniwha lock Josh Goodhue had to be taken from the field by a medi-cab.
Goodhue, 26, suffered a sickening head clash with All Blacks hooker Nathan Harris during the first half of the midweek fixture at Rotorua Stadium.
After a long delay of nearly 10 minutes, Goodhue was taken from the field by medical staff, wearing a neck brace and transported to hospital.
Goodhue was released from hospital in the early hours of Thursday morning, but is still experiencing ongoing headaches and a sore neck. He was due for further scans on Thursday afternoon.
The injury comes on the same day that former All Black Carl Hayman revealed he has been diagnosed with early-onset dementia, taking legal action against World Rugby.
Wednesday's fixture was scheduled for October 24, but was moved to avoid clashing with the tangi of Bay of Plenty winger Sean Wainui, who died last month.
On the field, a try double to winger Peni Lasaqa, and one apiece for lock Manaaki Selby-Rickit and Harris gave Bay of Plenty a 22-14 victory.
For Northland, second-five Blake Hohaia endured an eventful evening, firstly shown a yellow card for clearing Lasaqa out of a ruck with a high tackle, before scoring his side's first try of the night.
With the final play of the game, replacement prop Justin Davies added Northland's second, but it was too little too late, as Bay of Plenty closed out the victory.
The win sees Bay of Plenty leapfrog Canterbury and Tasman into fourth on the NPC premiership ladder, now the front-runners to finish in the top four, before this weekend's final round of fixtures.
Bay of Plenty play their final regular-season game against Canterbury in Christchurch on Saturday, with the winners hoping to earn a semi-final.
Northland's defeat leaves them out of the running to catch Southland for a spot in the NPC championship semis.
The Taniwha sit bottom of the teams left in the championship, with 12 points from their eight matches, trailing Southland by a single point.
Northland have finished their competitive regular-season matches and will end their 2021 campaign this weekend in a non-competitive outing against premiership leaders Hawke's Bay in Napier.
