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England’s Dylan Hartley admits he doesn’t remember lifting Six Nations trophy after blow to head
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The hooker was carried off on a stretcher during the win over France after clash with Uini Atonio at the Stade de France
England captain Dylan Hartley says he doesn’t remember lifting the Six Nations trophy on Saturday.
The hooker was forced off early against France in Paris after receiving a blow to the head. He clashed with Uini Atonio with 15 minutes of the match remaining.
Hartley told 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 auntie 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.”
He added: “It’s a huge honour to be England’s 10th Grand Slam skipper and become only the 13th side in history to do this.
“But the credit has to go to the whole squad. The guidance from the coaches has also been brilliant over these last two months where we have all made some huge sacrifices to achieve our goal.”
Hartley is now on the mend, but he will be guided by the medics before returning to action for Northampton.
“I’m feeling much better now and will go through all the head assessment protocols at Northampton this week,” he said.