FORMER All Black Sam Harding is enjoying life at Basingstoke RFC and is confident that the team at Down Grange is good enough to secure a high finish in National Three London.

The 28-year-old flanker, who counts Northampton, Ulster and Crusaders among his previous clubs, joined ’Stoke in September, when he returned to London after a stint playing in Europe.

His skilful handling and tough tackling have had a big impact on the team and he has played a key role in their recent resurgence, scoring a fine try in the win over Tring.

“It’s good fun at the club and things seem to be on the up,” Harding said. “They are all hard working, good players and we have played some decent stuff at times over the last few weeks.

“Rugby is rugby at the end of the day and I have played long enough to fit in without any problems but it was nice to get my first try a couple of weeks ago.”

Basingstoke’s results have been somewhat hit and miss so far this season but Harding believes that the team has the ability to finish near the top of the table.

“It’s a tough league and some of the other teams have full-time players but we are pretty well placed at the moment,” he said. “We do not want to get too far ahead of ourselves but there is a chance we can move up the table.

“I do not want to single anybody out for praise but I have been impressed by the way the guys come together as a team.

“We have had a couple of wins recently but have not been happy with our performance, which is good because winning without playing well is always a positive sign.”

Harding’s one international cap came in June 2002, when he helped New Zealand to a 68-18 victory over Fiji in Wellington.

“Playing for the All Blacks was something that I had always dreamed of and it was a pretty special day,” he said. “I would have liked to have played more internationals but it’s something I will always have to tell the grandchildren.

“I thought I played pretty well but Richie McCaw had the number seven position pretty tied down and it is a very competitive scene. I ended up changing position between seven and eight a few times for my club, which didn’t help me either.”

Harding was introduced to the club by former director of rugby and fellow Kiwi Jim Dixon but is unsure how long he will remain at Down Grange.

“I’m waiting for my girlfriend to get her visa to come back from New Zealand, so couldn’t make plans for a couple of months. So I thought I would have a couple of games somewhere,” he said. “I had met a couple of people down at the club through Jim so that was where I ended up.

“I have had a couple of frustrating seasons with an undiagnosable back problem so it’s nice to be playing and a good thing to be able to ease myself back in this way.

“I am still not decided whether to go back to professional rugby. I’m still weighing it up so we’ll see what happens.”