JAMIE Fish thinks that Basingstoke could be challenging for the title next season – if they are able to add a little bit of nous to their game.

The scrum-half says ’Stoke have the ability to push for promotion but need to work on a plan B if the weather prevents them from playing their expansive game.

“The top teams are a lot smarter and are able to play the conditions, which we struggle to do at times,” Fish explained. “I think we are a bit naïve at times, trying to play into hand too much when it is wet and windy and we have wasted numerous overlaps with knock-ons and errors.

“We play good rugby but have not got the nous some of the other teams have.

“Basingstoke have always had quite a mobile pack who are able to get around the pitch quickly. That’s great but in the winter we need to front up and take it up the middle. We had a couple of pick and go phases against Old Albanians where we looked good but then the mistakes came.”

Basingstoke were only promoted to National Three London this season but Fish has not been overawed by the step up and feels they have the quality to mount a title challenge next time around.

“Apart form Jersey, who are running away with the title, there is not a huge amount between the top seven, including us,” the 22-year-old said. “This season has been a learning curve and I hope that we can transfer that into a proper title challenge next season.

“We are a young team compared to some of the others in the league but we have great potential. We just need to be more consistent, that’s the difference between us and the teams at the top of the league.

“We should be able to keep the core of our side together and next season I think we’ll have more consistency and be a bit more flexible.

“It’s probably a bit beyond us this season but we would like a good finish. Ideally we would like to push towards the top to build for next season.”

Fish, who is at university in Oxford, has been a vital member of the side since recovering from an injury that kept him out of the early stages of the season.

He is enjoying his rugby and says he has an almost telepathic understanding with fly-half Paul Morris, having played with the New Zealander for more than a year now.

“We have got used to each other and while we don’t talk that much, we seem to know what the other one is doing,” Fish said. “Dan Rees, Simon Appleby and Sam Harding are a good back row to play behind as well because they give me plenty of time on the ball.”