Wales hooker Scott Baldwin bitten by Lions as Ospreys head coach brands reason for missing game 'pretty stupid'
Ospreys head coach called it 'pretty stupid' from the Welshman
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Wales hooker Scott Baldwin missed Ospreys’ 44-25 thumping by the Cheetahs after being bitten by a lion, in what is surely the most bizarre injury of the year.
Ospreys coach Steve Tandy initially said his absence in Bloemfontein was just not rugby related but only later revealed what had actually happened.
The team were in Bloemfontein to play the Cheetahs after two South African sides joined the Pro 12 to make it the Pro 14 and the players were visiting the local wildlife in a safari park when the incident happened.
The players were told to stroke the lions like a cat but Baldwin took it too literally and stroked around the animal’s mouth before it snapped and bit his hand.
Tandy called it the “one of the silliest things” he had ever been involved in and confirmed the 29-year-old needed stitches – although he did absolve the lion of any fault in the incident.
“There was an incident with a lion,” he said. “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.
“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.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments