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 it ...

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 wa ...

, 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

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. 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

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, which saw the Springboks run away 44–0 winners, with Muller scoring one

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. After defeating Scotland, the Springboks had the tough task of playing the other three home nations, as well as

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

on the rest of the tour. The Springboks made it two from two at

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, defeating

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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 ...

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, 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

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. 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 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 Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, 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

. 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 Muller
on genslin.us * * {{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