Charles Brennus

Brennus Ambiorix Crosnier, better known by his pseudonym Charles Brennus (30 November 1859 – 23 December 1943), was a French medalist, master engraver-chaser, international rugby referee, and sports leader who served as the honorary president of the French Rugby Federation and who is best known for creating the Bouclier de Brennus.

Early life Brennus Ambiorix Crosnier was born in Châteaudun, Eure-et-Loir, on 30 November 1859, as the son of Jules Alphonse Crosnier (1831–?), a tailor, and Augustine Sibot (1839–?), a seamstress. He served SCUF as its first president and also as a member of its first rugby team from 1896 to 1900, being its captain during the first two seasons.

If Brennus did not exist, I believe that he would have to be invented. His existence seems, in fact, as necessary to French rugby as the instrument of the game itself, this ovoid ball with which Brennus made so many sensational entrances onto the playing fields, preceding our national teams, as the referee. — G. Neumeyer in the French newspaper Le Miroir des sports on 24 February 1921. The final product, based from an original drawing by Coubertin, was an engraved brass shield and plaque, fixed to an ash wood board, and it was named after him.

As a referee, Brennus directed some major matches in the 1890s, which earned him notoriety, but also unpopularity. When each sport got its own federation in 1920, Brennus continued to provide his assistance and support to the French Rugby Federation, which named him as its honorary president. In February 1921, the French newspaper Le Miroir des sports dedicated a full page to him, called Brennus, le père du rugby français ("Brennus, the father of French rugby"). He did not invent anything in football, nor was he a particularly good player, but its utter devotion to the sport for 25 years.