Scott Baldwin: Lion bite victim thanks surgeon who saved his hand
- Published
Scott Baldwin shows off the lion bite scar
Sport is littered with tales of freak injuries, but perhaps none will ever be more bizarre than that of hooker Scott Baldwin, who hit global headlines in 2017 when he was bitten on the hand by a lion.
"When you put your hand in a fence where there is a lion, you will get bitten," then Ospreys coach Steve Tandy said at the time as the Welsh region worried that the Wales international might lose his hand, let alone his rugby career.
Baldwin's misfortune happened during a team trip to Weltevrede Game Lodge on the outskirts of Bloemfontein, before the Ospreys' Pro14 match against their appropriately named hosts, the Cheetahs.
Everyone present on the visit was, according to Tandy, given plenty of warning not to stick their hand into the lion's den, but Baldwin did not heed the advice.
Not only was he bitten, he quickly developed an infection.
"The infection was the major issue," Baldwin told BBC Sport at the time.
"The next day it started tracking up my arm. The surgeon said there was a chance I could lose my hand.
"The surgeon said [after the operation] it was the best possible outcome considering I had been bitten by a lion."
Thankfully Baldwin made a full recovery and now, with the Ospreys again in Bloemfontein for Saturday's 31-14 win over the Cheetahs he has taken the chance to personally thank the surgeon, Faf Weyers, who was presented with Baldwin's match shirt following the victory.
"Faf literally saved my hand, thank you my man," Baldwin wrote on social media.
