Six Nations win leaves Baxter wanting more

“The roar at the end was incredible”

Fin Baxter insists England are determined to back up their seismic upset of France after reigniting their RBS 6 Nations title bid with a dramatic 26-25 victory at Allianz Stadium.

England ended a run of seven successive defeats to top tier opposition by finally closing out a match that was there for the taking, having fallen in a host of near misses over the last year.

Baxter joined Elliot Daly in stepping off the bench to score a try in a breathless climax and with a bonus-point win now in the bank, as well as the losing bonus point they claimed against Ireland, they face Scotland on Saturday week with renewed purpose.

“That roar at the end was incredible. I’m going to remember that for a very long time,” Baxter said.

“Just like with the close results we’ve had, we made sure we didn’t get too low with those and we’re going to enjoy this, but we’re not going to get too high either.

“We got on the right side of it this time but we weren’t perfect and there are lots of things we need to work on.

“This is a marquee win and a win that we’re going to look back on for a very long time, but we’re not parking up after that.

“We’re going for the rest of them and that’s what we’ve been going with since I’ve been part of this team.”

A feature of England’s win was the impact made by the bench with Baxter, Daly, Jamie George, Ollie Chessum and Ben Curry making influential cameos that helped swing the game.

The influence of the replacements is a success story that was missing from the past 12 months when France, New Zealand on three occasions and Australia all came from behind to edge Steve Borthwick’s side.

“The bench goes on every time trying to make a positive impact, trying to bring energy and a lift. Against France we did that and we brought that lift,” Baxter said.

“There’s not one key thing that’s changed at all, it’s hundreds of small things, but we made sure against France that we did our role.”

Baxter, who also won an important scrum penalty, was making his seventh Test appearance and is now having to deal with opponents who are alive to his threat after he arrived on to the scene as an unknown against the All Blacks last summer.

“This year’s definitely been a step up with people not glossing over me,” the Harlequins front row said.

“I proved in New Zealand that I’m an international rugby player and no longer can I, as I did last year, fly under the radar into games and catch people by surprise. That’s not a thing any more.

“And it took me a little bit of getting used to that with everyone being switched on 100 per cent. I’m back on it, which I’m really enjoying.”

Published: 09/02/2025 by Radio NewsHub