How Gloucester players almost cost a British Lion his hand in shark attack - Ruck

How Gloucester players almost cost a British Lion his hand in shark attack

Gloucester duo Richard Hibbard and James Hook were in a wildlife incident to rival Scott Baldwin’s Lion bite on their own trip to South Africa.

During a Wales tour in 2008 the pair, who have both played for Gloucester, decided to be go underwater in a shark cage along with Welsh wing Shane Williams.

Williams revealed in his column for Wales Online: “I had a pretty scary moment there myself on a trip there with Wales in 2008.


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“A few boys, including Richard Hibbard, James Hook and myself, thought it would be a good idea to be lowered into the sea in a shark cage.

“I was shoved to the front of the cage by Hibbs and another forward just as a huge great white swam by.

“Time stood still for me for a couple of seconds.


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“Fortunately, the fish only grazed my arm.

“But not for a moment did I think of trying to stroke it, as Scott did with that lion. I just wanted the shark to pass as quickly as possible.

“When they pulled up the cage, I can remember the captain giving us a bit of a ticking off about the importance of respecting nature.”