Being part of a 49-7 home defeat might not live long in the memory of some people, but try telling 18-year-old Harlequins tighthead Fin Baxter his senior men's debut against Racing 92 last month was anything other than glorious and you'd most likely be given a hiding.
In fact, as an advanced brown belt in judo, the former Cobham RFC junior might be tempted to launch you from the Stoop to Twickenham High Street if you suggested his late appearance as a replacement that day was anything other than a triumph – which, of course, it was.
Reliving his finest moment to date, Baxter says: “The 11 minutes I got, I was very pleased with the opportunity to have a taste of what it took to play at that level.
With Simon Kerrod serving a two-week ban and injuries at the club, it opened up an opportunity to battle for a bench spot and the previous week I'd been part of the matchday 23 in Munster without getting on.
“But I found that extremely useful in opening my eyes to the level you need to be at to be ready to play and come the week of our match against Racing, I was fully zoned-in and almost confident going into it. I felt I could make a mark and during the week our coaches, Adam Jones and Jerry Flannery, had made a point of telling me to make sure I knew my stuff 100 per cent.
“I had an inkling I was going on and to get that game time and my first experience of men's rugby in a match like that is something I'm proud of and will never forget.” Capped by England U18s a year early in the summer of 2019, Baxter is accustomed to being chucked in the perennial deep end. He explained: “Getting into camps and being picked for that South Africa tour in the first place was unbelievable, but then getting there and being subjected to the level of detail we were was the nearest thing I'd had to being a full-time player.
“We played Argentina, France and South Africa and we took a group of 17-year-olds turning 18, whereas the other sides fielded largely 18-yearolds turning 19. As a front rower, you can imagine there were a few differences and we were given some lessons, but the games were all competitive and I made some good friends and learnt a lot on that trip.” An admirer of Alex Corbisiero, Tadgh Furlong and Mako Vunipola, Baxter is ideally placed now to build on his early success. He added: “For scrummaging, ‘Bomb' (Jones) is awesome and the amount of knowledge he's fed into me regarding both sides of the scrum is brilliant, while Jerry has been equally good with my work around the park and my intensity.
“I look up to Wilco Louw a lot and all our front rowers are really helpful, so while I've been privileged to make my debut at 18, I've got to keep grinding on now.”
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