Gloucester v Worcester: Inflatable ball breaks crossbar

The start of Gloucester's Premiership game against Worcester Warriors was delayed when a giant inflatable rugby ball broke one of the crossbars.

The incident happened during the build-up at Kingsholm, minutes before the scheduled 14:00 GMT kick-off.

Ground staff worked quickly to replace the bar but referee JP Doyle decided to put back the start by 30 minutes.

Gloucester won 12-6 for their first home league victory since September, while Worcester are winless in 10.

During the pre-match entertainment, two sets of fans raced from the halfway line to be the first to put their ball over the posts at the Kingsholm Road end of the ground.

But one of the balls somehow managed to push one end of the bar upwards and off its moorings.

With the game due to screened live on BT Sport, Gloucester groundsman Dave Balmer and staff tried to make repairs as quickly as they could.

After nine minutes, an orange tractor drove under the posts for Balmer and a colleague to hitch the bar back into place.

The bar had to be replaced after it was knocked off during the pre-match entertainment

The incident happened just minutes before the 1400 GMT kick-off

The referee decided to put back the start of the game by 30 minutes

Ground staff try to work out their next move

They eventually bring in a tractor to put the bar back in place