We've had a bit of sunshine and that's been a benefit but the language barrier has been tough. "Obviously, the north of England is very different to the south of France, so there has been a nice little cultural adjustment for all of the boys but it's something we've enjoyed. "It has been a refreshing change to England," Nightingale said. The team are having two days off in Nice to recharge their batteries before heading to Leeds, where they will be based for the next two weeks. That wasn't what we were looking for but our defence held solid anyway." "We didn't start the second half the way we wanted to, we scored a try and then had a few incomplete sets in a row. So we were conscious of making sure that didn't happen again. "We had that 20 minutes against Samoa where they really got a roll on and scored a few tries back to back. "But for the main part our defence was definitely a big focus after the Samoa game and I thought that was a lot better than last week. "Obviously there was a bit of sloppiness every now and then on attack and we failed to complete a lot of sets, which was pretty poor. "It was a solid defensive effort which was something we were focusing on during the week," Nightingale said. While the French game was far from faultless, overall it was an improved effort on the game against Samoa and it is hard to be overly critical when a team wins 48-0. But we did well to keep them to zero and that's something we're most proud of." We could have given up a try at different points of the game because they put a lot of pressure on our line and they competed very well. "The boys put in and that was the main thing. "It's good to keep a clean sheet and our scramble defence was great against France. "I probably made two tackles against France and I don't think that's much of a stat. "I don't know if you can credit a winger for that," Nightingale said, smiling. It is that in the two games he has played in - against the Cook Islands in a warmup fixture and against France - the Kiwis did not concede a single point in either of them. Nightingale's supporters could point to one statistic that is in his favour during this trip. "This is the most competitive squad I've been a part of, that's for sure." "It will be competitive until the end and whichever way it goes, I hope to find a place in the team. "It is very competitive at the moment, probably I am a touch behind Manu and Roger at the moment being as they both played that big game against Samoa," Nightingale said. It is hard to see how Tuivasa-Sheck, the NRL's winger of the year could be left out of the team in the knockout stages, which means it could come down to who plays better out of Vatuvei and Nightingale next weekend. There is only Saturday's game against Papua New Guinea in Leeds to go before the World Cup enters its knockout stage and if Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney continues his philosophy of making sure everyone gets a chance, it should be Nightingale and Vatuvei in the wing spots for that game. Vatuvei and Tuivasa-Sheck both played superbly against Samoa in New Zealand's first game of this tournament and in last Saturday's match against France Nightingale was not able to make a similar impression, although to be fair he did not really have many chances to. Kiwis wing Jason Nightingale believes he is behind Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Manu Vatuvei in the battle for the two wing spots in the big games at the Rugby League World Cup. Scored two tries in the 2010 NRL Grand Final and was the clubs player of the year in 2011.ONE OF THREE: Jason Nightingale faces stiff competition for a starting wing spot in the Kiwis lineup. Team first has been the mantra for St George Illawarra players this season but it is one Jason Nightingale has abided by since joining the club as skinny. Retired as one of five men next to Graeme Langlands, Reg Gasnier, Johnny Raper and Ken Kearney to appear in more than 30 Tests as a Dragons player, and one of two, along with Langlands, to play in three Rugby League World Cups while a member of the club. Was the fourth St George Illawarra player to score 100 NRL tries, after Nathan Blacklock, Matt Cooper and Brett Morris. Finished his career with the third most first-grade appearances for the Dragons, behind Ben Hornby and Ben Creagh. Born in Sydney to New Zealand parents and a Renown United junior, made his international debut for the Kiwis in the Centenary Test at the SCG in 2008. Appeared in at least 18 games a season every year from 2008 until his retirement at the end of 2018. Made his NRL debut as a 20-year-old winger in round 8, 2007, scoring a try in a 28≡6 win over Penrith at Kogarah.
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