England have been here before. Six years ago, they were left to lift the Six Nations trophy after failing to win the Grand Slam in defeat by Ireland. As Dylan Hartley hoisted the trophy into the air on Saturday night, the sense of déjà vu was obvious, and yet the faces of those on the podium did not reflect a team disconsolate with themselves.

They made a point to enjoy their success, praise the fact that it took a phenomenal Irish performance to end the 18-match unbeaten streak and try to put on a brave face. It worked, to a degree, but some were able to hide it better than others.

Take Danny Care, the scrum-half who was spraying champagne on his teammates, or even Hartley himself, who was wearing a proud smile and determined to enjoy himself up there. But there was one person who couldn’t hide the disappointment, the ultra-competitive James Haskell, who couldn’t get past the Grand Slam failure after losing by just four points in Dublin.

“It’s a difficult one. Everyone asks you: how you feel?” Haskell said after the 13-9 loss. “Personally I am a very competitive person, I hate losing ,I don’t like celebrating any loss.

“Bbut at the end of the day, this team has come a long, long way, we worked so hard, eight weeks of unbelievable training, we still won the Six Nations back to back, we fell short today but everyone has sweated, bled to get to this point.

“You’ve got to take the positives. It tell you: look back at 2011, we won a Six Nations, we were all upset about it afterwards, but when I hang by boots up, I’m still going to count it as a win because we won. That’s what ultimately matters.”

The fact that the loss, the first of the Eddie Jones era, came after a record 18 consecutive victories to tie New Zealand’s benchmark, made the defeat that little bit easier to deal with. There is also the rapidly approaching Rugby World Cup, which almost reduced the importance of the Grand Slam in the eyes of Jones and his squad. With the draw for the tournament in May, Jones stressed after the match that this first loss has come 14 months into his four-year plan to win the World Cup, and the players echoed his belief that this setback can be an important lesson in the development of this England side.

“You can’t win everything in rugby, you can’t win forever,” Haskell added. “No side in the world has done that, not even all the All Blacks. You have days like this. If you’ve got a long-term project, which Eddie and his coaching staff do for 2019, on days like this you learn. You can always look back at it and say ‘do you know what, we were in turmoil, we had this situation, we had the pressure, what can we do to turn it?’

Ireland vs England player ratings Show all 32 1 /32 Ireland vs England player ratings Ireland vs England player ratings Ireland: 15. Rob Kearney- 7 Coped with everything that came his way and threatened on occasion. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 14. Tommy Bowe - 6 Posed Nowell problems in the air but starved of clean ball in space. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 13. Jared Payne - 7 Defensive work was of the highest calibre and didn’t put a foot wrong until injury forced him off. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 12. Robbie Henshaw - 9 Strong running caused England huge problems and leaped above Goode for try that won the game. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 11. Simon Zebo - 7 Excelled under the high ball as England continuously tested him and defended strongly. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 10. Jonathan Sexton - 9 Tackled ferociously and his genius kept Ireland on the attack before exit gave England a reprieve. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 9. Conor Murray - 8 Provided quick and clean ball behind dominant Irish pack and box-kicked for Henshaw’s try. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 1. Jack McGrath - 7 Kept Dan Cole quiet which is enough in itself, carried well and added force to the maul. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 2. Rory Best - 8 Unfaultable at the lineout, always had his hands on the ball in the maul and stood out in the pack. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 3. Mike Ross - 8 Scrummaging was miles better than in the past and he won the battle with Marler. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 4. Devin Toner - 9 Disrupted English lineout when Ireland were under pressure and outshone second-row partner O’Connell in the lineout. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 5. Paul O'Connell - 7 Battled to the very end with a late charge down and continues to defy his age of 35. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 6. Peter O'Mahony - 7 Carried well and was on the receiving end of some big runs, but stopped nearly everyone. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 7. Sean O'Brien - 5 His first rampaging run at Ford led to the injury that forced him off in a rather dazed fashion. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 8. Jordi Murphy - 8 In to replace Heaslip and paid back the favour with a brilliant display on the floor to win numerous penalties. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings Best off the bench: Tommy O'Donnell - 6 On for the injured O’Brien after 25 minutes and added running power where needed. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings England: 15. Alex Goode - 8 His kicking got better as the game went on and his dancing out of the deadball zone was sublime, but beaten in the air for the try. GETTY IMAGES Ireland vs England player ratings 14. Anthony Watson - 6 One second-half break threatened to open the game but panicked with a pass to thin air. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 13. Jonathan Joseph - 6 Given little chance to show his agile best and replaced when England’s chances were dying. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 12. Luther Burrell - 5 Didn’t put in his best shift and will be under pressure for selection against Scotland. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 11. Jack Nowell - 6 Picked in favour of Jonny May, and showed why with impressive pace, but targeted in the air. Ireland vs England player ratings 10. George Ford - 6 Missed penalty would have levelled it up early and two errant passes, but continues to learn at this level. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 9. Ben Youngs - 6 Caught at the base on occasion but passing was good enough before being withdrawn. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 1. Joe Marler - 5 Couldn’t find an edge on Ross which was a surprise and suffered as a result. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 2. Dylan Hartley - 6 Lost two lineouts and was absent in the loose, though his defence was commendable. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 3. Dan Cole - 7 Came to life late on with a barnstorming run over Healy and tried his best to snaffle a turnover or two. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 4. Dave Attwood - 5 Ill-disciplined throughout and was probably the most disappointing in white. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 5. George Kruis - 7 Disrupted the Irish maul very well and the fact he stayed on for the 80 shows how far he’s come. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 6. James Haskell - 6 Gave away an early penalty, and given no quarter at the ruck where he was caught isolated repeatedly. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 7. Chris Robshaw - 6 Tackling was as determined as ever but sloppy with ball in hand. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings 8. Billy Vunipola - 7 Another who improved as England grew into the game, but ran out of options after an impressive 40m break. Getty Images Ireland vs England player ratings Best of the bench: Richard Wigglesworth - 6 Injected some pace into England’s attack with two good breaks. Getty Images

“All the messages on the field were great, the tactics were great, everyone was saying the right thing. But we’d go a couple of good positives and then indiscipline, penalty and you’re back in your own half. That’s the problem when you play against a team like Ireland.”

The Wasps flanker looked like a man trying to take the positives out of a heartbreaking negative, and it led him to a rather interesting acknowledgement that the next time England play, the summer tour of Argentina, it may not be him in the seven shirt anymore. Whether that’s through a British and Irish Lions call-up, a plan from Jones to rotate and test other options or something a lot more surprising, only Haskell currently knows.

“We threw everything at Ireland and to a man everyone put the effort in, but we came off second best. That’s what can happen in international rugby. We equalled the record and we fell short. Whoever takes the shirt on from now will want to leave it in a better place,” he admitted.

England still won the Six Nations despite missing out on the Grand Slam (Getty)

Haskell’s probably going to miss out on the flight to New Zealand unless he can rekindle his form of 2016 in the final two months of the season, the injury that robbed him of the first seven months of the campaign doing his chances no good at all. But he has a revenge issue to deal with first. The 31-year-old will return to the Aviva Stadium in just two weeks’ time to face Leinster in the European Champions Cup quarter-finals, an enticing clash between the leaders of the Premiership and Pro12, that will see him come up against a number of the players who plotted the downfall of England.