Baxter's return from 10-month injury absence puts him in England frame for Australia clash

Fin Baxter marked his return from a 10-month foot injury layoff by playing the first half of Harlequins’ 33-15 Gallagher Premiership victory over Saracens at The Stoop, with Quins head coach Jason Gilmore immediately backing the loosehead prop to feature for England against Australia on November 8.

Baxter has already been called into Steve Borthwick’s England training squad ahead of the Nations Championship opener at Allianz Stadium, and Gilmore was encouraged enough by what he saw to suggest the prop could be ready to contribute against the Wallabies.

“I’d certainly back him after the way he came back,” Gilmore said. “He showed his quality right from the get go. We’ll bang another game into him against a big Exeter pack next weekend. Hopefully we can push him to 50 minutes, 60 minutes then. Whether he comes off the bench or starts, that’s up to Steve Borthwick.”

Gilmore was careful to manage expectations around Baxter’s workload. “We just don’t want to be too greedy with Fin because we haven’t had him for a while. He came back and played a really strong game. We’ve just got to make sure we don’t overload him too much too early because he’s such a good player.”

The win itself was Harlequins’ first in the Premiership this season and was orchestrated by Marcus Smith, who celebrated his 200th appearance for the club with a man-of-the-match performance. Smith scored an early try and produced a crucial defensive intervention, tracking back to deny Saracens full-back Max Malins a certain score.

“Danny Care is the quintessential Harlequin but I think Marcus is number two because of the work that he puts in and the care that he’s got for the club,” Gilmore said. “He’s only 27 years old and has played 200 games for us. We’re so lucky to have him.”

Saracens head coach Joe Shaw had little to offer beyond admiration for Smith’s display. “He’s brilliant, isn’t he? He’s brilliant. And we planned for him not to be that brilliant. He can pick you off. It’s a disappointing day at the office for us.”

Gilmore also confirmed that England back-row Chandler Cunningham-South will miss approximately two months with an ankle injury, adding to England’s selection concerns ahead of the international window.