THE cheers of Welsh rugby fans are not the only thing still ringing around the country in the wake of the Grand Slam victory - so are the tills of many shops.

Catalogue giant Argos, in particular, has seen sales of rugby balls and safety gear jump since the weekend's magnificent win.

A spokeswoman said sales of rugby kit had jumped by a massive 183 per cent over the same period last year and an amazing 40 per cent in the Argos Extra store on Maesglas Retail Park in the last week alone.

Other stores in Gwent also reported that rugby-related stock, especially jerseys, had been flying out of their doors.

With every victory in the Six Nations championship, Argos recorded a huge jump in sales of rugby balls in its Welsh 'Extra' stores.

Particularly popular is the Gilbert A-XV ball, which is similar to the ball used in the tournament.

Sales of safety equipment, including head guards, mouth guards, gloves and shoulder supports have also had a massive boost. Junior versions were especially popular for the budding Dwayne Peels, Ryan Joneses and Michael Owens.

Argos sports buyer Peter Vowell said: "It's absolutely unprecedented. "At this time of the year we'd normally expect sales of cricket bats and tennis rackets to be overtaking sales of rugby gear, but the stunning Welsh victory has turned everything on its head."

He believed Welsh rugby fans were looking forward to a new "Golden Age" and were stocking up on rugby equipment to emulate their heroes. "It just goes to show what everyone in Wales has always known - there's nobody more passionate about rugby than the Welsh."

Olwen Gregory, sales assistant at Macey Sports, said there had been a mad rush for Welsh jerseys on Saturday and the interest had been maintained. "I think we have one Welsh rugby ball left."

She added people were still coming, mainly for jerseys. "I think it (the Grand Slam) will make more children interested in playing rugby." Gilesports in Cwmbran, which sells the players' jerseys, also agreed there had been a surge in interest.

Andrew Gabb, store manager at GT Sports in Chepstow, said they had been extremely busy selling Welsh shirts on Saturday. "We have just had the Grand Slam 2005 shirts and they are going fast." A spokeswoman for the Welsh Rugby Union said sales of official WRU merchandise were also up.