In the moment, I thought this was close to our worst performance this year (barring Vegas) even though we won. But having rewatched that game, I actually thought it wasn't that bad. Things always get clouded by emotions on game day, especially given what was at stake if we lost that game.
For long periods, we did execute our gameplan quite well. For the first 20 minutes and for most of the 2nd half, we were winning the collisions in the ruck and pinning the Knights into their corners. Had it not been for that dreadful
Egan no try call, that early dominance would have converted into a 12-0 advantage. We were rolling through their middle at that pt, so under that counterfactual we probably go on to a dominant victory. Unfortunately for us that no try call changed the entire trajectory of the game.
Obviously our discipline was uncharasterically off. Two errors led directly to two of their tries-
DWZ's roll ball and
Ford's drop ball. We probably should have challenged the
Ford drop ball as it was clearly stripped out. But
Webby has clearly instructed the team to not risk challenges in the first half. Turns out it came in handy at the end of the game, ensuring that we maintained possession until the final whistle.
As for the defensive breakdown on the right edge, I have a suspicion that
Capewell was carrying an injury into this game. Normally he gets right into the face of the opposing centre. But in this game, he seemed a little passive and slow to get back into line which might explain why
DWZ was jamming in harder than usual to help him out.
All in all, the main problems from the game seem eminently fixable and I'm sure
Webby is on top of it. I'm a little less concerned about that performance after rewatching the whole game.