Wales hooker 'mocked' after lion bite in SA

Cape Town - Wales hooker Scott Baldwin can expect to be “mocked for years” after recovering from a lion bite in South Africa, a team-mate has joked.

Baldwin was bitten by a lion last week when he put his hand through a fence at a game lodge near Bloemfontein.

He was visiting the lodge with his Ospreys team-mates before their PRO14 match against the Cheetahs.

Baldwin's team-mate Ashley Beck, who missed the trip due to shoulder injury, insists the team should come up with a nickname by Wednesday.

"I think when something like that happens to you, you have to expect that (mockery) to come from the boys. Like any circle we are in, boys can be relentless in terms of what comes his way. I think Scott has to expect that now. It is going to go on for years with him,” Beck was quoted as saying on the KweseESPN website.

"Nothing (nicknames) I've come across with him, no but you have to give the boys a couple of days for us to think of something tidy and you'll have it by Wednesday, I think."

Ospreys are however confident that Baldwin will make a speedy recovery.

Head coach Steve Tandy said Baldwin received eight stitches after the incident last Wednesday and is now recovering at home.

"Thankfully, he's probably got all five, or four fingers left," Tandy joked at the Champions Cup launch in Dublin. "He'll still be able to throw the ball in. He'll be back up and running (soon) and hopefully this can be put to bed. It is probably a story that will last forever, and those videos will."

Baldwin's Ospreys went on to lose 44-25 to the Cheetahs last Friday, their fourth defeat in five PRO14 matches.

The 29-year-old hooker joined Ospreys in 2009 and has been capped 34 times by Wales.

Stroke the Lion it'll be fine they said! Here's @scottbaldwin2 petting a lion like it's a pet cat! pic.twitter.com/Y95FObGeJ5

— Andy Goode (@AndyGoode10) September 29, 2017