It was swept away on the pitch, but England’s rugby team made sure it swept up in the changing room before leaving the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
Eddie Jones’ side left its locker room spotless despite a 21-13 defeat by Wales, which posted a record 12th consecutive Test win to top the Six Nations table.
“A hard fought and competitive match but, as always, thanks @WelshRugbyUnion for having us and congratulations on the win,” said a tweet from the England Rugby account accompanied by a picture of the team’s pristine changing room.
England’s first loss of this year’s Six Nations championship put Warren Gatland’s Wales in the driving seat with two games remaining.
Victories in Scotland and at home against Ireland would clinch Wales’ first grand slam for winning all five matches since 2012.
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England appeared to be in control at half time in Cardiff thanks to a try from Tom Curry, but Wales rallied in the second period through tries from Cory Hill and Josh Adams.
“An incredibly tough contest and a new chapter added to the #WALvENG history book. Always great welcoming @EnglandRugby and their supporters to Cardiff,” the Welsh Rugby Union account wrote in reply to England’s tweet.
Not everyone was full of praise for the picture of the clean changing room posted on Twitter.
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“It should be the absolute norm in their culture and not needed to be paraded on social media,” said former Fiji sevens coach Ben Ryan.
“Also a far stronger message when people hear these things on the grapevine. Some things don’t need to be made public.”
The Six Nations championship resumes on March 9 when Scotland and Wales meet in Edinburgh.
