Fin Baxter and England Rugby’s next generation of props
Fin Baxter has taken a leadership role in this fresh England squad - and he talks up the next generation of props. By Alex Lowe, rugby correspondent for The Times.
Welcome to the prop star generation. Fin Baxter is at the vanguard of a new crop of front row players who are emerging through the Gallagher Premiership and into the England reckoning.
Baxter was capped last summer in New Zealand and he is already part of England’s cohort of senior props, along with Ellis Genge and Bevan Rodd on the loose-head side and Will Stuart on the tight head. Behind them is an exciting depth chart of men who love nothing more than combat at close quarters.
Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 20, made his Test debut for England this season and spent a valuable week training with the British & Irish Lions, after his powerful scrummaging, his ability to pack down on both sides and his explosive ball-carrying impressed the head coach Andy Farrell.
Afolabi Fasogban, 20 was nominated alongside Opoku-Fordjour for the Premiership’s breakthrough player of the season. The Gloucester tight-head prop was responsible for one of the moments of the campaign, when he went head-to-head with Genge at Ashton Gate and came out on top.
Vilikesa Sela, Manny Iyogun, George Kloska, Tarek Haffer and Sonny Tonga’uiha are all on England’s radar - not to mention the more experienced pair of Joe Heyes and Trevor Davison, who have been in camp with Opoku-Fordjour preparing for England’s game against a France XV.
Props have always needed better public relations. They do a critical job for the team but so much of their contribution is hard to understand for those who have never buried their head in a scrum and hard to see from the outside.
Scrums are too often painted as a necessary evil or as a dull time-consuming way to restart a game. All of that can lead to the role of a prop being under-appreciated outside of the team environment.
No prop, for example, has ever won World Rugby’s player of the year award. And yet the big lads up front are rapidly developing into cult heroes, from Taniela Tupou in Australia to Ox Nche and Trevor Nyakane in South Africa.
Baxter is thrilled that England are now developing their own heroes in 4XL jerseys - and that the art of scrummaging and the role of prop forwards is being opened up, thanks in part to David Flatman and his specialist scrum analysis.
“It’s really cool to see,” Baxter said. “Asher going to the Lions training has been really cool for him and I sent him a message saying ‘Well done and good luck’. Some of these haven’t even been in the Premiership for very long and they are making their mark already.
“They are not out of place at all. And everyone making a step up and being in camp together is pretty cool. And you are right. They really are rock stars.
“What I especially love is that we're not getting plaudits for throwing triple miss passes and things just like that. We're getting plaudits for scrummaging, which is our main job, which can't be forgotten about.
“It is important to bridge that gap to fans who might not understand that area of the game. It is about opening up what we do, which is maybe not obvious.”
Baxter, Joe Heyes and Bevan Rodd boast just 30 caps between them. Without Genge or Stuart in the ranks this summer, the onus will fall on them to step up and lead the scrum conversations. It is a role Baxter is relishing.
“We have put a target on how quickly we can come together as a team,” he said.
“I've always said that no matter where anyone is, if you have something to add to the team, you don't have to be in a leadership role to do that.
“If you have got something you have spotted and you are not sharing it, you are not helping the team to the max. You have a duty to share what you think. The environment here allows everyone to do that, which is great.
“Now, I've found myself being one of the more experienced ones in camp, especially in the front row, and taking a lead on different aspects of the game is something I have enjoyed.
“Our scrum coach Tom Harrison has been brilliant, supporting me with my own game and being comfortable speaking to the group. When we come together and review training, it is a nice refresher for us all to chip in.”
Harrison has been at the forefront of driving England’s scrum from the depths to being statistically the best in the Six Nations and restoring the set piece as a weapon.
Baxter and England are bracing themselves for a fierce scrummaging challenge this summer against a France XV and then in two Tests against an Argentina side who tuned up for the series with a game against the Lions
“The France XV are going to bring a big pack and they're going to want to scrum and that's exactly what we want to do,” Baxter said. “That then tees us up nicely to go away in Argentina against a pack again that is known for its aggression and its dominance. It is a brilliant test. And why not? Let's go there and impose ourselves and improve our scrum again.
“Coming out of the Six Nations, our scrum was at the top. Key figures like Ellis, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Will Stuart are away with the Lions and we've got to step up and keep that pride around our scrum.”
The man who is delivering England’s props the platform to achieve that is Harrison, who works with the Test team but also contributes to the specialist tight five camps. That allows him to pass on his own expertise and to start building relationships with the next generation.
“He's so unapologetically passionate about scrummaging. He loves it,” Baxter said. “That's what makes it such a good relationship. You've got a coach who wants you to do so well and is trying his best at all points to find little gains. It's really motivating. It brings another level of detail and focus onto what we do.
“The vibe around the England camp this summer is one of fresh excitement. We are raring to go.”
