Northampton captain Dylan Hartley admits his side were ‘poor’ in the 55-24 Premiership defeat to Saracens on Saturday.
The Saints were blown away in the first half and found themselves trailing 41-3 at the interval. Leaking 9 tries in total, Hartley admitted it was a ‘humbling’ experience and a bit of a ‘shock’ but perhaps the shock they need to kickstart their season.
“There were a lot of people writing us off before this tournament and a lot of people’s prophecies were confirmed today,” Hartley told BBC Northampton.
“But we will stay together, keep our heads down and keep working.”
The hooker added: “We lost and we didn’t lose in a good manner. We were poor. They seemed to win all the 50-50s and scored points every time they turned the ball over.”
Hartley only recently regained the captaincy from Lee Dickson having extended his deal at Franklin’s Gardens in July.
“It’s a very grounding and humbling experience. Pre-season was going really well and we’ve had a bit of a shock today,” Hartley said.
“I’ve been in this game long enough to know that one game doesn’t define you, and I’m not going to let this derail our season.”
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