Scott Of The Safari: I Felt I Was Looking Into The Lion’s Soul

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By Rob Cole

Scott Baldwin has admitted he could have lost his hand, his career, and the chance to play with his young son as a result of stupidly smoothing a lion in a South African safari park.

The 29-year-old Wales hooker finally returned to action with the Ospreys in last weekend’s Champions Cup defeat at Saracens after missing three matches and having to undergo four operations.

In his first press conference since the incident in Bloemfontein he talked about how the severity of what happened to him only really hit home last week.

Now he realises how lucky, very lucky, he was.

He admits that his perspective on life has altered since he became the talk of the sporting world for trying to pet a male lion a few days ahead of the Ospreys’ Guinness PRO14 clash with the Cheetahs almost a month ago.

The video of the biting incident has already had more than 83,000 views on You Tube and Baldwin has become used to being the butt of all the jokes in the dressing room and beyond.

“I have been called the Lion King, Simba, all sorts, most inspired by Bradley Davies,” he said.

“When I was warming up before the Saracens game at the weekend all the fans were singing ‘in the jungle’.

“There was a bit of humour and it is going to be like that. I enjoy it, it is a good laugh and I would be doing the exactly the same if I was on the other side.

“Thankfully, it is something I can look back on with a bit of humour now that I am out of the woods, but at the same time realise how fortunate I was. I had to have four operations and at one stage was told I would need plastic surgery and could lose my left hand.

“I think it only hit me how lucky I was when I was in bed the other night. When someone says you can lose your hand, instantly your career is gone.

“I’m a new father, so it made me think about all the things I might not have been able to do with my son and how I might have been able to earn a living without my dominant hand – all those things went through my head.

“That really put things into perspective for me and made me realise how very lucky I was. When you see the video it looks very quick, but for me it felt like a lifetime, it felt as though I was staring into its soul.

“Thankfully, Clarkey (Allen Clark, forwards coach) grabbed me around the waist and the lion let go. Clarkey was telling me that my hand was still attached and that everything was going to be ok.

“The surgeon said it was one of the most incredible things because the bite went straight through my hand, but it didn’t hit any tendons or ligaments. It was almost as if it had gone through like a surgical knife.”

Baldwin had spent almost an hour playing with some lion cubs in an enclosure early on in the visit when he was invited to see the bigger lions. It was too big an opportunity for a self-confessed wild animal lover to pass up.

Close Shave: Pic: Getty Images.

“I petted the female one, with no issues, no bites, and got really comfortable. The male sat down and I stroked him on his head and then, silly me, I turned round to give one of the boys my phone to take a picture,” recalled Baldwin.

“The lion obviously noticed that I had turned away and, being the king of the jungle, he took his bite. His claw had my arm slightly, but it didn’t go in deep because he hit the cage.

“Thankfully he let go and I still had my hand – I was a very lucky boy. Sometimes you do things you regret, and this cost me three games for the Ospreys, but hopefully it is something I can learn form and it can act as a warning to others.

“It was self-inflicted – I put my hand in a lion enclosure, everyone knows that – but I just want to move on now and focus on getting my rugby back to where I want it to be.”

He hopes that Friday night’s regional derby clash with the Dragons at the Liberty Stadium will give him the chance to complete his rehabilitation and get his rugby ability and credentials back on the agenda. If he gets his first start of the month then he could find himself going head-to-head with one of the young pretenders to his Welsh place, Elliot Dee.

“Warren Gatland has been in touch and asked me how the hand is. He is a pretty shrewd character who keeps everything close to his chest,” he added.

“I would love to be in the Welsh squad – that’s where I want to be. But ultimately have I played enough? It’s not in my hands at the moment and all I can do is focus on Friday night and putting in a performance to get back to where I need to be.

“It’s about going game by game to get back to where I need to be and putting behind me the frustrations of the early part of the season, my bad neck, coming back and then only having a game and a half and getting injured again.

“I want to get a run of games to put myself in the position I feel I need to be at my best. That’s not somewhere I feel I’ve been in the past 12 months through various niggles and injuries.

“Allen Clark has come in and been really honest and shown me the areas in which I need to be a bit more persistent. He’s identified areas of my game where I wasn’t at the right level last year and have been previously.

“I feel I am back to that point again now and it’s all about kicking on and getting better in every single game and helping to transform the losing habit in which we are at the moment. We need to get some wins and not just put in good performances.”

With Sam Parry and Scott Otten vying with him for the No 2 jersey at the Ospreys, the 34-times capped Baldwin knows that if he is playing well enough to be the top pick at his region, then he is in with a good shout of regaining his Welsh spot.

Ken Owens: Pic: Getty Images.

Ken Owens is Gatland’s top pick at present, with Kristian Dacey coming through as the likely lad in reserve. A fully fit and firing Baldwin would obviously be in the mix, but there are other candidates emerging.

“I toured with Ryan Elias in the summer and he is a really nice guy with real presence on the field. We’ve got Scott Otten at the Ospreys, who is another outstanding prospect,” said Baldwin.

“Sometimes people forget about him because he doesn’t always play every game. He is an outstanding rugby player, a great individual and someone I get on very well with.

“There are other players outside the region, but with Sam Parry I am constantly looking over my shoulder and that is only making us better players.”

Baldwin still believes the best is still to come in his career and he can’t deny that the last month has changed his perspective on all manner of things in his life. He may be able to smile about it now, but he fully realises that what happened is no joke.

“What have I learned? If someone says you can put your hand in a lion’s cage, don’t listen to them! You learn from experiences and it’s something I won’t be doing again in a hurry,” he added.

 

So how did it all happen? What were they doing at the safari park?

“The coaches had organised for us to go to the reserve on a day off. We had seen the lions on the bus coming in, but only slightly as we drove past. I have always loved lions, tigers and those types of big wild animals. We had done the tour, the forwards had a bit of a golf competition off the top of the mountain and the backs were doing a bit of clay-pigeon shooting.

“We swapped over and found that there were a couple of lion cubs there and the boys had been allowed to go in and play with them. Naturally we wanted to do the same, so we went in for a once in a lifetime experience.

“Then we went and had food, but we obviously hadn’t seen the big lions up close. The backs had, so Guy Mercer and I went and asked if we could have a wander down so the game reserve owner said ‘give us two minutes and we will take you down there.’

“Naturally all the forwards wanted to go down and a few of the coaches came as well. The owner’s house was in the middle of the reserve, fenced off with an electric fence all the way round, and in the entrance the green gates you could see in the video.

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“The drivers called the lions and they came running down, chasing us. It sounds stupid now, but they came running in the same way as if you call your dog. They came over and growled, but it was only like a dog barking. They were happy, playful animals and the drivers were rubbing and stroking them.

“We were told to stay a metre and a half away initially. Then, within 30 seconds, they asked if anyone wanted go in with them. So, me being silly, said ‘yeah I’d love to’. We then asked if we could stroke them. I know it sounds stupid now, having been bitten, but having been with the cubs for an hour I almost forget that they are wild, strong animals.

“They told us to be careful. I petted the female with no issues, no bites. I got really comfortable. The big one, the male, sat down and I stroked him on his head. Again, silly from me, I turned round to give one of the boys my phone to take a picture and he obviously noticed that I’d turned away. Then the king of the jungle took his bite, but thankfully he let go.

“Afterwards, on one of the cameras the boys had, it was almost as if the lion looked like a dog that had just been told off and knew it had done wrong. Obviously, he hadn’t done anything wrong for him – no one blames the lion, he is a natural predator and that’s what he does.”

 

 

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