'Whether he comes off the bench or starts, that’s up to Steve Borthwick'

Fin Baxter has been backed to make his England return against Australia in a fortnight after signalling his recovery from a long-term foot injury in Harlequins’ 33-15 victory over Saracens.

Quins registered a first Gallagher Prem win of the season, orchestrated by man of the match Marcus Smith, and were also boosted by Baxter’s first appearance for 10 months.

Baxter has been called into England’s training squad ahead of their Nations Championship opener at Allianz Stadium on November 8 and Quins boss Jason Gilmore believes he could be ready to face the Wallabies.

The loosehead prop was given the first half to prove his fitness and Gilmore said: “I’d certainly back him after the way he came back. 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.

Gallagher Premiership

P

W

L

D

PF

PA

PD

BP T

BP-7

BP

Total

1

Gloucester

4

3

1

0

16

2

Leicester

4

3

1

0

16

3

Bristol

4

3

1

0

14

4

Northampton

4

2

2

0

11

5

Saracens

4

2

2

0

11

6

Bath

4

2

2

0

11

7

Sale

4

2

2

0

9

8

Newcastle

4

1

3

0

8

9

Exeter Chiefs

4

1

3

0

8

10

Harlequins

4

1

3

0

7

“Whether he comes off the bench or starts, that’s up to (England head coach) Steve Borthwick.

“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.”

Smith celebrated his 200th appearance for Harlequins with a start turn at The Stoop that was launched with an early try and also saw him deny Max Malins a certain try by launching a tackle just as the Saracens full-back was about to touch down.

“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 and we’re so proud of him.

“Everyone knows Harlequins – when we’re at our best, we can play a really free-flowing style of rugby, but we’ve got to have grit on the other side of the ball as well.

“If Marcus isn’t going to die on plays, then we’re in the contest. That was a really big statement against Max Malins that he set for our boys.”

Gilmore confirmed that England forward Chandler Cunningham-South will be out for two months because of an ankle injury.

Saracens were well beaten by their London rivals and head coach Joe Shaw could only marvel at Smith’s influence.

“He’s brilliant, isn’t he?” Shaw said. “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.”