- Ospreys and Wales hooker Scott Baldwin was injured during team outing
- His hand was bitten by lion this week during visit to Weltevreden Game Lodge
- Ospreys boss Steve Tandy said: ‘There was an incident with a lion, it’s nothing to do with the lion in all fairness to it, but he did bite Scott’
Scott Baldwin is an early contender for the most bizarre injury of the year after being bitten by a lion in Bloemfontein.
The Ospreys and Wales hooker was forced to miss his side’s 44-25 thumping by the Cheetahs after an incident at Weltevreden Game Lodge.
Initially it was unclear why the forward was absent but Osprey’s head coach Steve Tandy admitted it was not rugby related.
Scott Baldwin was labelled ‘pretty stupid’ for being bitten by a lion in South Africa
Baldwin (left) stuck his hands through the bar to stroke the lion but the lion reacted (right)
The lion tried to bite the Ospreys player but he managed to pull his hand away in time (right)
He said: ‘There was an incident with a lion, it’s nothing to do with the lion in all fairness to it but he did bite Scott.
‘When you put your hand into a fence and there’s a lion in there, you can expect to get bit.
‘He had plenty of warning, so it’s pretty stupid on Scott’s behalf. He’s pretty lucky,’ Tandy added.
Steve Tandy believes Baldwin will be back before too long after the incident
The Wales and Ospreys hooker missed the game against the Cheetahs due to his hand injury
A number of the Ospreys team posted pictures with lion cubs on social media but it seems Baldwin misjudged the big cat.
Fortunately the 29-year-old isn’t expected to be out for very long and only required a couple of stitches on his wound.
Tandy added: ‘It’s probably one of the silliest things I’ve ever been involved in, but thankfully he’s okay and hopefully he’ll be back up and running in the next couple of weeks.’