Hendrik "Hennie" Scholtz Vosloo Muller (26 March 1922 – 26 April 1977) was a South African
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
footballer. Born in
Witbank
Witbank (), officially Emalahleni, is a city situated on the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the Emalahleni Local Municipality. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for "white ridge", and is named after a white sandstone outcrop where wago ...
, Muller is considered one of the greatest South African rugby players, captaining the national side, the
Springboks
The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...
in nine tests, and is a member of the
International Rugby Hall of Fame
The International Rugby Hall of Fame (IRHOF) was a hall of fame for rugby union. It was created in 1997 in New Zealand and is run as a charitable trust with an address at Chiswick in London. Most of the trustees are also inductees. IRHOF ac ...
.
His usual position was at
number eight.
Career history
Muller made his international debut for the Springboks on 16 July 1949, in the starting line-up in the first a four matches against the touring
All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...
. The South Africans won the first test, 15–11, which was played at
Newlands. The Springboks' winning ways continued at
Ellis Park, when they won the second test 12–6. South Africa made it 3 games to nil with a 9–3 win in
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
. The series was tied up as a four to nil whitewash of the All Blacks, as the Springboks won the fourth encounter 11–8 in
Port Elizabeth.
In 1951 Muller skippered South Africa at Murrayfield in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
, which saw the Springboks run away 44–0 winners, with Muller scoring one
try. After defeating Scotland, the Springboks had the tough task of playing the other three home nations, as well as
France on the rest of the tour. The Springboks made it two from two at
Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...
, defeating
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
17–5. Muller guided the team to a closer victory in the subsequent match against
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2 ...
in
Cardiff, which saw the Springboks keep the clean winning record on tour 3–0, winning the game 6–3, a South African drop-goal proving the difference between the two sides.
The tour had now entered early January, and the next assignment for the Springboks was to face the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
at
Twickenham. The Springboks came a step closer to getting a grand slam, defeating England 8–3, with Muller adding five of South Africa's nine points, with a conversion and penalty goal. Having defeated all four home nations, the final task to achieving a grand slam was to defeat the French in Paris. The Springboks ran in six tries to defeat France 25–3, Muller scoring one of the tries, as well as adding a conversion, and thus, South Africa completing a grand slam tour of Europe.
Muller captained the side against the
Wallabies
A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...
for a four test series in South Africa in 1953. Muller scored a try in the opening exchange at Elils Park, which saw the home side win 25–3. The Wallabies hit back in
Cape Town, taking the second test 18–14. However South Africa won the next test, 18–8 in Durban. In Muller's final match for the Springboks, played in Port Elizabeth, South Africa won 22–9. Muller would go on to coach the Springboks in 1965. In 2001, he was inducted into the
International Rugby Hall of Fame
The International Rugby Hall of Fame (IRHOF) was a hall of fame for rugby union. It was created in 1997 in New Zealand and is run as a charitable trust with an address at Chiswick in London. Most of the trustees are also inductees. IRHOF ac ...
.
Muller has a fitness drill named after him which is said to be the bane of every front rower to ever play the game.
Notes
Bibliography
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External links
Hennie Mulleron genslin.us
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Hennie
1922 births
1977 deaths
People from Witbank
Rugby union number eights
South African rugby union players
South Africa international rugby union players
World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees
South Africa national rugby union team coaches
Golden Lions players
Western Province (rugby union) players