Warren Gatland's mobile has been busy this week. On Sunday he was asked could he replace Brian Asthon for the French game. On Monday afternoon Ashton rang to say he was resigning, so when Pat Whelan rang again that night asking Gatland to come to Dublin for a meeting on Tuesday he had "an inkling" what it was about. By Tuesday he was Irish coach.

In truth, he was hardly going to say no. "I don't think I could turn it down because you get an opportunity like that, and not so much from my point of view, but from the players' point of view, it wouldn't send out much of a message if I did turn it down."

The tracksuited coach was sitting in the Corrib Great Southern hotel on Thursday. He was a bit sheepish at first, having been an hour late after forgetting about our interview.

By Wednesday, the mail box on his mobile phone was full and by Friday he still hadn't had time to respond to the 30-plus messages. One had been from Ashton, wishing him all the best. Another had been from Mike Ruddock, and he remembers to return his best wishes by leaving a message of his own on the Welshman's mobile. It's been that kind of week, his wife Trudi comparing Wednesday to his first day as an All Black.

He is not one of life's self-doubters and so when you ask him if he had any doubts or fears about becoming an international coach at a mere 34, his answer deflects the question away from himself.

"The fears that I have at the moment are the total negativity towards the team. In particular I find the Sunday 'papers pretty negative toward the whole set-up. It's so easy to criticise and I know there aren't a huge number of things to be positive about. But people don't want to read about positive things. It's easier to read about negative things and criticism and that sells papers."

Back home in New Zealand, it has all been very positive; a main news item on the radio every half-hour. Gone but not forgotten, and his meteoric rise in Ireland will have revived his profile there. There has been no one guiding light in his career; ege per se; Gatland is more a graduate of the best rugby school in the world. "No-one could buy what I've been through in terms of the school of rugby players I've played with."

Listing all the coaches he's played under for Waikato and the All Blacks - Glen Ross, Kevin Greene, John Hart and Alex Wyllie - Gatland concludes: "I think you take out all the positive things from those coaches and add to it with your own personal thing. From a playing point of view, to be involved with some of the great All Blacks, of course, and just soak up their knowledge and experience as well."

An avid listener, with an acute rugby brain, he was always going to be a coach. Even toward the end of his playing days Gatland was both player-coach at Galwegians and his home-town club, Taupiri.

Inevitably, therefore, there is bound to be more of a pragmatic and less of a theoretical coaching philosophy from the former All Black. More basic structures will be put in place, with a greater focus on some of the specifics of the defensive pattern.

Ironically, Gatland will probably rely more on what might be called `the Paddy Factor'. He's been a masterful motivator in his time with Connacht, having them sing one of the team anthems, Red is the Rose before that magnificent win over Northampton in Franklins Gardens.

Ask him what his coaching philosophy is, and he says: "I suppose there's a few things there like discipline and create a team environment where people are comfortable and happy and secure, as well as a work ethic of training hard."

Certainly, no-one at Connacht was asked to do anything they couldn't do. But for all that, players such as Conor McGuinness evolved into far more complete players and the scrum-half has attributed his broader vision of the game, and much improved tactical kicking, to Gatland's influence. Though Gatland was a hooker in his playing days, Eric Elwood describes him as "one of the best backs' coaches I've ever worked with."

Connacht's performances were also embroidered with some innovative try-scoring ploys, such as the 13man line-out and Elwood's reverse flicked pass behind his back. They had a "90 per cent" success. "I wouldn't discount anything," says Gatland mischievously. Who knows, Ireland at least might manage to equal its tally of two tries in the previous 26 years in Paris.

Gatland doesn't go so far as to say that all the Irish players weren't good enough to realise Ashton's vision of total rugby, to put it simplistically, in which every player should be able to make decisions in any area of the pitch. But you sense he might be thinking it and that his Irish team will be a little bit more structured.

Watching Connacht regularly this season, you almost got to predict what they would do next. They would recycle opposition restarts and then immediately kick to tackle. Territorially, they play more of a percentage game, then blast Mervyn Murphy over the gain line, ruck it quickly, catch the opposition off side and cue Elwood for another three points.

"With Ireland at the moment you've got to look at your team and play to your strengths, and hide your weaknesses and that's what I'll be looking to do. Ultimately that game (total rugby) is probably what the French side are playing at the moment.

"I think people who watched Connacht this season would have been happy with the style of rugby we played. How much we kicked ball and how much we kept the ball in the hand, and the moves that we had, while still making sure we played to our strengths."

Connacht rose to the challenge on their French sorties and Gatland is already savouring next Saturday's challenge. "French sides are so dangerous when they're ahead. Once they get points up on you their confidence flows. You can't give them any space. You've got to pressurise them, you've got to be aggressive and just turn them sideways. Defensively you've got to be so strong, hit rucks in numbers. Once they get their confidence up not many sides in the world can live with them."

In a sense, Gatland has nothing to lose with Ireland. He and the team are on a hiding to nothing. But with one game gone and just one week to go before Paris it's a bit like hopping on a moving bus.

"That's the problem. Obviously every coach tries to impart his own personal philosophies, his own emphasis on coaching and I think any changes that I make have to be subtle. It's not fair on the players otherwise."

Loyalty is a big factor in the Gatland make-up, a point quickly impressed upon the Connacht players. He told them: "One of my biggest strengths is my loyalty to the players and it's one of my biggest weaknesses as well, so that's up to them."

But even in his short and peripheral time with the international squad he's made a big impression. There have been no dissenting voices, the players greeting his appointment very positively. Brian Ashton's departure was met with disappointment, but he was a little removed from some of the players. Whereas some of the management were concerned about where the passion would come from before the Scottish game, it shouldn't be a concern now.

Still, what can he do for Ireland in three matches? "In some sort of ironic way it's the same as what happened when I came to Connaacht. I mean, the expectations are so low and the negativity from everyone is there. So, initially, it's about coming together and creating an environment, and earning respect for yourself first of all and then getting respect from other people."

"That would be one of my primary goals initially. If the team can play for 80 minutes with some guts and passion and pride, then at least people will see an Irish team out there they can identify with."

Gatland has already raised eyebrows by declaring his preference for looking at home-based players rather than English-based ones. While it will have the incidental affect of currying favour with some of the more reactionary elements in Irish rugby, and will go down well with his employers, Gatland has his own reasons.

"I just think that we've had a look at things, the consensus is that having the players in England is a hindrance to the Irish performance. They're playing too much over there. We can't keep an eye on them and if we want to call a squad session we have to ask the English clubs for them whereas if we had the majority of Irish players playing here we'd have more autonomy.

"I think it's just come to a head now and it can be a goal for the union over the next two or three seasons to encourage and get everyone back here. It's what I believe they should be looking to do."

Gatland also believes that the increase in competitive games for the provinces to "12 to 15" will make the domestic fixture list more attractive. Nor does he think the Allied Dunbar Premiership is "all it's cracked up to be".

But don't many players benefit from the move? "I can't answer that because I haven't really seen enough of them play. Probably they're better players, but we can't get our hands on them to develop them even further and that's what you can do with guys who are based here."

New Zealanders, South Africans and Australians come and go from European rugby, sometimes leaving with the tag of mercenary. But this fellow is no mercenary and could be making considerably more money in the English club game now. The loyalty thing works both ways.

Of all the weeks that the Gatlands had to pick to move into their new house in Galway - which was being built since last November - it was this one of course. He, Trudi, Gabriel and Bryn moved in on Friday, so Galway will remain home for however long Warren's tenure as Irish coach lasts.

"I know the people here and I've got friends here and that makes it so much easier. My wife's happy and my kids are happy at school. The funny thing is that when we went back to New Zealand over Christmas we were talking about `going home' as going home to Ireland, and not New Zealand." A local rises from a bar stool as Gatland moves off. "It'll be tough in Paris," he says, and a look of pity almost takes hold as he struggles to find the next words, "but we'll all be rooting for you."

"Thanks very much," says Gatland. He believes he can make a difference, and he can.