Sunday 19 March 2017 20:56, UK
England's first defeat in 16 months at the hands of a depleted Ireland side on Saturday was a "reality check", says captain Dylan Hartley.
Eddie Jones' side were beaten 13-9 in Dublin to deny them a second successive Grand Slam and halting a tier-one record of 19 consecutive wins, four months after Ireland prevented world champions New Zealand from reaching the same milestone.
"It's a reality check," Hartley said. "We have got to take the positives from it and how I see that is that we are not the finished article.
"There will be lessons to be learnt from this game. It will keep us focused and working hard to improve."
England had already claimed this year's Six Nations championship ahead of Saturday's match, but Hartley - who lifted the trophy after the game - admitted their triumph was tarnished by the defeat.
"We don't have a game next week to rectify and put things straight. It's a bad taste. But we set out to win the championship and we've done that," the New Zealand-born hooker added.
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