Making a debut away from home against the All Blacks, and then lining up for a first start at Eden Park, looks a daunting prospect for a green front-row forward.
Yet speak to those who know Fin Baxter, who looks likely to replace the injured Joe Marler for England’s second Test in Auckland on Saturday, and they are not worried.
Partly it is to do with Baxter’s attitude and competitive nature, but also it is his technical skill that stands out. Baxter is 22, and converted from tight-head to loose-head prop only four years ago.
He may still have the cherubic face — which made it apt that Baxter chose Angels by Robbie Williams as his first-cap initiation song on Saturday night in Dunedin — but that belies a drive and a fierceness within him.
This is the opinion of Adam Jones, the famed tight-head who won 95 caps for Wales and five for the British & Irish Lions, and is now Baxter’s scrum coach at Harlequins. Apart from Baxter’s parents, you will not find a bigger fan of Baxter than Jones — and he knows his props.
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“I know he looks young, and the old-fashioned prop has the grizzled face and he isn’t that, but you don’t need to be that these days,” Jones, 43, said. “You need to be competitive, and at times bite down on your gum shield and dig in. He’s got that fight.”
Marler, who will have to head home after being ruled out of the second Test, and his Harlequins team-mates call Baxter “Brock” as they think he looks like the WWE wrestler Brock Lesnar. Jones compared Baxter’s mentality to another fighter.
“I remember listening to a boxing commentator speaking about Floyd Mayweather and he said that he takes three rounds to process what is going on, and then is able to pick off his opponent,” Jones said. “I’m not saying he’s Floyd Mayweather but Fin processes information really quickly like that and can react to it. If he has an issue, nine times out of ten, the next scrum he doesn’t.
“He’s still a big kid, but he’s got no neck, a big old head on him and he’s strong through the hips and the back so it was a no-brainer to move him to loose-head.
“We’ve been working on the consistency of his set-up and his bind to get him into the best pushing position. What he’s brilliant at is, when he’s in there, staying in front of the tight-head and not moving.
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“The main attribute you need as a prop is to be competitive, stay in and dig in sometimes. He’s got that. He’s an amazing ball-player and a phenomenal defender, and is able to dead-stop people, which Steve Borthwick and Felix Jones [the England head coach and defence coach] will love, but he’s competitive.
“He gets a bit frustrated if something goes wrong, but reflects quickly and sits down to talk and think about it so he gets it right.”
Baxter spoke after his debut, the 16-15 defeat by New Zealand at the Forsyth Barr Stadium, and had the air of a young man who was comfortable with the level he had stepped up to. He unexpectedly entered the field after only 17 minutes, when his club-mate Marler had to go off.
“I just got on with it,” he said. “Those are the cards that you are dealt and you don’t need to think, you just need to do.
“I am so proud to represent England and to have put in a good shift, but obviously the closeness of the game is gutting. To make my debut is special.”
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Jones hopes that the referee Nic Berry officiates the tight-head side of the scrum better than he thought Nika Amashukeli did in Dunedin, so that Baxter can perform properly. Jones saw the All Blacks loose-head, Ethan de Groot, driving at some “extreme” angles, which destablised Will Stuart, and therefore the English scrum splintered at times.
Baxter announced himself as a fine all-round prop for Harlequins in the 42-41 Investec Champions Cup quarter-final win against Bordeaux Bègles in April. Harlequins did not fear the Bordeaux scrum, which included the 24-stone Ben Tameifuna, as they knew Baxter would dominate, having seen him deal with big tight-heads such as Exeter Chiefs’ Ehren Painter, the 22-stone prop who wears a 7XL shirt.
“It’s not because he’s arrogant in the slightest, but I don’t think it’ll faze him playing at Eden Park,” Jones said. “He looked at home at that level at the weekend. He made 16 tackles, some of them were pretty dominant, made some good carries, good touches of the ball and held up his side of the scrum pretty well.
“If he starts it’s a massive challenge against one of the best tight-heads in the world in Tyrel Lomax. He’ll relish it.
“He’s only 22, so let’s not put too much pressure on the kid, but he’s an awesome player who will get better as he’s exposed to Test rugby. There are not many 22-year-olds in Test rugby.”
Second Test
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New Zealand v England
Saturday, 8.05am
TV Sky Sports
