ENGLAND CAPTAIN DYLAN Hartley has revealed he cannot remember lifting the Six Nations trophy after being knocked out in Sunday’s Grand Slam-clinching win in France.
Tries from Danny Care, Dan Cole and Anthony Watson put England on course for their first clean sweep in 13 years, although Hartley had to leave the field late in the second half after he was knocked unconscious attempting to tackle Uini Atonio.
The skipper returned at the end of the match, apparently free of injury, and led the celebrations on the Stade de France pitch.
However, it has transpired that the memorable moment did not stick so long in Hartley’s mind.
He wrote in The Sun: “It’s a great feeling to say you’re a Grand Slam winner … I just wish I could remember lifting that trophy in Paris!
“After being knocked out and taken off on a stretcher I can’t remember any celebrations.
“I can’t remember the trophy presentation, the victory lap or seeing my aunty and uncle in the crowd.
“It’s a weird feeling so I’ve been looking at a lot of photos to piece it all together and there are bits coming back to me.
When I came round on the pitch, I tried to convince the medical staff that I was fine and hadn’t been knocked out but they were quite rightly having none of it.
“Owen Farrell came over and asked if I was fine but he also told me: ‘You’ve been knocked out mate — you’ve gotta go off and get looked after’.
“It would have been obscene for me to carry on and having seen the video back it was pretty clear I was sparked straight out.”
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