Tom Shanklin Wales centre

Apologies for this column being posted a little bit later than planned... I had to go to a party, or two...

We had a few celebrations after the game and taking it easier on Sunday involved the boys getting together for a few drinks in Mumbles, which was very nice.

Strangely enough, we had a fair smattering of free drinks and had a great reception from the Wales fans, especially those standing in the pouring rain to greet us as we came off the team bus for the post-match dinner in Cardiff on Saturday night.

After that it was on to our sponsor's bash, then a nightclub that had set aside an area for us and our partners. I don't want to mark the parties on a scale of one to 10.

What I will say is that it was about good team-bonding and it was a pretty eventful evening. It's nice to have a few drinks with your team-mates after a game because they are the ones you go though all the tough times with.

Shane's second try against Scotland - where his foot was oh, so nearly in touch - was a highlight

Unfortunately I don't have any hair to let down, but still managed to enjoy myself and celebrate appropriately. Because we are professionals, we don't get as many chances to go out to enjoy yourself like the olden days, but we had the perfect excuse.

It was the end of the Six Nations, we'd won and I think we thoroughly deserved it. And without naming any names, I'd probably have to say some of the Ospreys boys are the best party animals.

They have a few in that bracket and their backs are better than their forwards.

Of course, I have no idea how our best party animals compare with those among our fans, but some of my friends who were out in Cardiff tell me they got a bit messy and there were parties everywhere.

I have a different feeling about this Grand Slam compared with those of 2005. Four seasons ago, we hadn't won the Grand Slam for such a long time it was really special.

This year we had a poor build-up to this Six Nations after what happened at the World Cup and in last year's Championship.

But going from zeroes to heroes has been brilliant and makes it even more special.

The public have been great. I went for breakfast on Monday in Pontcanna, then a coffee in Cardiff Bay and everyone was coming up saying well done and congratulations. It's a great feeling.

The highlight against Italy? My try, of course - I just had to say that. It was my 50th cap and I hadn't scored for a while

But while we and our fans are justified in our celebrations, we can't let our Grand Slam or the public's euphoria detract from what we need to achieve next and I can sum that up in one word: consistency.

Martyn Williams was right when he said we didn't handle the 2005 Grand Slam success well and now I'd like us to follow up this repeat by driving ourselves on to nail down that consistency tag.

The coaches have come in and been brilliant. They've drilled professionalism, attitude, work ethic and intensity into us and that is what we have to keep going.

We have to keep pushing forward. We've had some great success, but we are the champions of the northern hemisphere and have to make sure from here on in we are more consistent.

That has to be driven by the players and coaches and I think we will do that. We've had this success and want more and for that to happen we know we have to raise our standards again.

We can start that process during the two-Test tour to South Africa. I'd love to be there even though it's been a long 18 months including the World Cup. The fact I've not been on a Wales tour since Argentina in 2004 is a factor.

606: DEBATE Tell us how you celebrated Wales' Grand Slam triumph

I'd also like to have a half-decent break after the tour just to let my body recover.

In the meantime I can look back with some satisfaction at a number of things. One of them involves a statistic that shows when Gavin Henson and I have been the centre pairing, Wales have not lost a game.

Our worst result was the 29-29 draw with Australia in November 2006 and it's a hell of a stat to have and hopefully we can continue our run of results. So far it's 12 without defeat as a centre partnership.

Other Grand Slam highlights for me include that scrum in our half on Saturday against France. To push the French off that was just immense. Our pack was amazing.

But there were other memories from the tournament I'll cherish for a long time to come.

When you're playing you're pretty focused. You know the crowd is there and can hear the noise, but can't really hear what they are singing.

But after about 77 or 78 minutes of the France game, after Martyn scored his try, the camera focused on the trophy and the whole stadium just erupted. I was aware then what they were cheering about.

Everyone knows what a great player Martyn Williams is and he knows it was the wrong decision to make to retire after the World Cup

Every game has had something special. In the England game, it was Mike Phillips' charge down and try - I thought that was brilliant.

Shane has been immense through it all and his second try against Scotland - the one where his foot was oh, so nearly in touch - was up there.

Against Italy? My try, of course - I just had to say that. It was my 50th cap and I hadn't scored for a while so that has to be a highlight.

Against Ireland we had Gavin's massive boot and Shane scoring again.

Another highlight has been Martyn coming out of retirement. Everyone knows what a great player he is and he himself knows it was the wrong decision to make to retire after the World Cup.

There will also be a quirky memory, that of us often watching BBC comedy 'Gavin and Stacey' on the bus going to training. We've had a good time watching that - the coaches have loved it.

It's just one of the many things that will remind me of our 2008 Six Nations Grand Slam campaign, one that was certainly worth celebrating.

* Tom Shanklin was speaking to BBC Sport's Gareth Roberts

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