Lion does Cheetahs a favour after bite rules out Ospreys' Baldwin

Ospreys’ Pro14 defeat to Cheetahs on Friday was not a source of pride for Scott Baldwin after a bite from a lion ruled him out of the match.

The Wales international hooker missed the 44-25 defeat in Bloemfontein after sustaining an injury to his hand while trying to stroke the animal on Wednesday.

Head coach Steve Tandy confirmed after the defeat in South Africa that Baldwin was left requiring stitches after his encounter with ‘the King of the Jungle’ turned sour.

“There was an incident with a lion, but in fairness it was nothing to do with the lion. He did bite Scott but when you put your hand in a fence where there is a lion, then you will get bitten,” said Tandy.

Confirmation that @scottbaldwin2 missed today's game after receiving a 'lion bite' https://t.co/rfSu9pOfse

— Ospreys (@ospreys) September 29, 2017

“It was pretty stupid on Scott’s behalf and he is pretty lucky.

“It had nothing to do with where we were. It was a good environment and we were told how far back to stand.

“I don’t know what sort of wildlife show Scott has been watching where you can pat a lion on the head as if it’s a kitten.

“It’s probably one of the silliest things I’ve even been involved in, but thankfully he is okay and hopefully he will be back up and running in the next couple of weeks.

“It’s not too serious. He had a couple of stitches and had it cleaned out.”

Ospreys released a statement confirming Baldwin will travel home with the rest of the squad as planned.