The story goes that Warren Gatland went into the Leinster dressing-room in Donnybrook after a game this season in which Trevor Brennan had given a trademark tour de force performance in his new incarnation of lock. "Well done Trevor," said the Irish coach, adding: "I was impressed with the way you played tonight and if you keep on like this you'll definitely be coming into the frame for the 2003 World Cup."

To which Trevor, in his own inimitable fashion, looked up at Gatland and said dryly: "Have you nothing for me before then?"

Well, as it transpired, Gatland did have something for Brennan just two internationals into the season. Gary Longwell had sustained a broken finger and with Jeremy Davidson dropped following the Scotland defeat, the Irish management unexpectedly called in Brennan as second-row cover ahead of Mick O'Driscoll and Leo Cullen, who would seem to have been ranked ahead of Brennan in the pecking order.

"That extra bit of experience he has was probably the decisive factor," explained Gatland of the decision to promote the 28-year-old Brennan, who had won 10 caps before Saturday, ahead of the more coltish O'Driscoll and Cullen. Furthermore, it was always more likely that Mick Galwey rather than Malcolm O'Kelly would be replaced, which made Brennan a more appropriate substitute. Besides which, of course, Brennan has the additional string to his bow of covering blindside flanker.

Even so, when Ireland manager Brian O'Brien phoned him last Tuesday it had been a year and a half since Brennan's previous appearance in the green, that grim day at Twickenham.

"I was doing a bit of tiling in my ma's utility room. The dryer was spinning, the dog was barking and the young fella was screaming. I took a bit of convincing. I thought it was one of the lads and it was only when Brian said 'good luck, I'll ring somebody else so' that I finally realised it was for real."

With that the dust was soon rising behind him as he made his way to the squad base in Greystones. "I never gave up hope," was the mantra of his week.

With Trevor what you see is what you get and - scarcely able to conceal his delight over his recall - he immediately became an uplifting and positive presence in the squad.

"In many ways Trevor is the soul of the Leinster rugby set-up," says the province's team manager Ken Ging. "He's an incredible character and he's an exceptionally nice person as well as being a bloody good player. Whenever a new young player comes into the squad or a new player from abroad, Trevor is the first over making sure they are alright."

While credit must go to Gatland for first suggesting Brennan reinvent himself in the second row, a word or two must be reserved for the Leinster set-up and coach Matt Williams given the litany of rejuvenated players - Girvan Dempsey and Eric Miller had possibly their best games for Ireland last Saturday.

"Willie Anderson did an awful lot of work with me," said Brennan, adding that he thought the scrummaging wasn't too bad but he stayed back and did a lot of work on line-outs and receiving kick-offs.

Such is his fearsome desire that during the summer, having missed out on the 40-man training camp in Poland, Brennan embarked upon the toughest personalised summer training regime of his life, and is now fitter and more injury-free than ever before.

"I knew the competition would be harder than ever. I lost half a stone but I felt a lot better for it and whereas before I used to be a bit of a 70-minute player I believe I'd be a 90-minute player now."

Without the Celtic League he assuredly wouldn't have played last Saturday. He has appeared in all of Leinster's games, once as flanker and captain in the win away to Swansea, and five times from the start at lock. Excellent he's been too. The penalties were cut down and the famed temper never once boiled over.

"My discipline has been good. No cards," he says. But as he also admits, "I have to prove it over a number of games, to players and coaches".

Old reputations die hard and when he ran on to the pitch on Saturday as a replacement for Mick Galwey, the first player he passed by, Peter Clohessy, remarked: "Now Trevor, no penalties."

Ten yards later, Keith Wood said to him: "Cool and calm, Trevor, no penalties. Keep the head." The ball hadn't even come into play yet. Jokingly, Brennan later told Wood: "I'm a changed man. I spent three months in a Buddhist Temple."

It's the same with Leinster, so much so that whenever Ging tells Brennan he's about to come on he's not allowed to finish the sentence any more. "Yeah I know, no penalties," says the Barnhall man.

That was the case last Friday week, when he was a late replacement against Newcastle in Donnybrook. The next day he was a half-time replacement for Barnhall away to Thomond at Fitzgerald Park in the second division of the AIB League, helping them to a last-minute 26-25 win. The following Saturday he was running out in front of 72,000 people in the Millennium Stadium and all its magnificence.

Needless to say, the clubhouse back in Barnhall went ballistic. An hour afterwards Brennan rang Barnhall to speak to a host of people. True to his word, Brennan had returned to his home club during the summer as soon as they'd won promotion to Division Two, assuring them of another feather in their cap. He had always been revered as one of their own and he'd never forgotten his roots. Only 32 years as a senior club, Barnhall were playing in Division Three of the Leinster Junior League six years ago, but five promotions later and they are in AIL Division Two in only their third season as a senior club.

Up in the stands, when Brennan ran on to the pitch, a number of Irish jerseys were removed to reveal Barnhall blue underneath. So endeth Brennan's Lazarus-like return from the wilderness. "I'm over the moon, to say the least."

The Barnhall Bruiser is back and it genuinely couldn't happen to a more genuine bloke.