diff --git a/inventory/group_vars/testbed-nodes.yml b/inventory/group_vars/testbed-nodes.yml
index feb2865e6..2b13c8705 100644
--- a/inventory/group_vars/testbed-nodes.yml
+++ b/inventory/group_vars/testbed-nodes.yml
@@ -100,9 +100,14 @@ cilium_bgp_neighbors:
 # kubevip -> frr
 # osism-ansible < 9.0.0 uses bgppeers (old format); osism-kubernetes >= 9.0.0 uses bgp_peers.
 # Only pass the list for 9.0.0+; 8.x falls back to kube_vip_bgp_peeraddress/kube_vip_bgp_peeras.
+# The match('^[0-9]') guard is required because in 9.x the inventory reconciler sets
+# manager_version to a date-based container tag (e.g. v0.20251130.0) rather than the OSISM
+# release semver; LooseVersion cannot compare 'v...' against a numeric version and raises a
+# TypeError.  Non-semver values always indicate a 9.x+ deployment, so they take the else branch.
 kube_vip_bgp_peers: >-
   {{ [] if (manager_version is defined
             and manager_version != 'latest'
+            and manager_version is match('^[0-9]')
             and manager_version is version('9.0.0', '<'))
      else [{'peer_address': '192.168.128.5', 'peer_asn': 64512}] }}