'Don't be fooled by the baby face'...
England new boy Fin Baxter impresses on international debut as he leave his mark against the All Blacks Fin Baxter joined England veteran Dan Cole in debut, on England's forward line Baxter, 22, impressed players and coaching staff in narrow loss to All Blacks By Chris Foy Published: 17:31 BST, 8 July 2024 | Updated: 17:37 BST, 8 July 2024 e-mail View comments When Fin Baxter was born, Dan Cole would have been preparing for his GCSEs. Now, this unlikely double-act is set to be charged with giving England a platform to level this series against the All Blacks . The age gap between the novice Test prop and the veteran is 15 years, give or take.
Baxter has just made his debut, while Cole made his 114th appearance in Dunedin – to match Jason Leonard’s record as the country’s most-capped male forward. They are at opposite ends of the career spectrum, but they are in contention to form a crucial alliance at Eden Park on Saturday, as England seek to solve the scrum problems which contributed to their agonising, one-point defeat last weekend. Baxter entered the fray earlier than expected at Forsyth Barr Stadium in the series opener.
Instead of being deployed as a second-half replacement for Joe Marler, he had to go on before the end of the first quarter. His experienced Harlequins team-mate had suffered a foot injury and will now miss the second Test, so Baxter is in contention to fill the void. Prop Fin Baxter impressed on his internationa.
