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Wales international Scott Baldwin is bitten by a lion in South Africa

Mark Dobson
Ospreys’ Scott Baldwin missed the Cheetahs match after being bitten by a lion.

The Wales international Scott Baldwin missed the Ospreys’ 44-25 Pro14 mauling by the Cheetahs after being bitten by a lion in Bloemfontein.

The hooker’s late withdrawal from the match was described as hand problem before kick off but the whispers around the ground began to suggest this was not your usual injury.

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During the week Ospreys players had posted pictures of themselves holding cubs during a visit to the Weltevreden Game Lodge and Baldwin was bitten while trying to pet a lion.

“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,” admitted the Ospreys coach, Steve Tandy. “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 nothing to do with where we were, it was a good environment, we’d been told how far back to stand. I don’t know what sort of wildlife programme Scott has been watching, [that says you can] pat a lion as if it’s a kitten.”

Baldwin’s bite required “a couple of stitches” but the coaches were relieved it was not more serious.

“It’s probably one of the silliest things I’ve ever been involved in,” added Tandy.

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“Thankfully he’s OK and hopefully he’ll be back up and running in the next couple of weeks. It’s not too serious, he’s had it cleaned out and had a couple of stitches. Hopefully he’ll travel back with us tomorrow.”

Ospreys became the first Welsh team to head to South Africa in the tournament but were outclassed on the field.

They scored three tries from Rhys Webb, Kieron Fonotia and Dan Evans but, despite taking the lead just before half-time, they were put in their place after the break as the Cheetahs’ pace saw them touch down six times.