Hennie was a wonderful player. I believe he was one of the best ever to play for South Africa in any position. He was so exceptionally fast, there was no-one faster than Hennie around a rugby field.

He had a very serious operation on his knee just before the 1949 All Blacks were due to arrive. I remember his doctor phoned me and told me about the operation. He warned that he doubted that Hennie would play again and that we should make other plans. I appreciated that phone call but Muller certainly played again, and magnificently.

I don't know whether that injury affected his speed at all, if it did then heaven knows he must have been greased lightning before. During the 1951/52 tour after Basil Kenyon was hurt and Hennie had to take over, we selected two teams - one for a dry ground and one if the ground was wet - a radically changed one.

We had experienced a wonderful preparation prior to the Scottish test. Hennie, Fonnie du Toit and I went to Murrayfield before the match and sat looking at the turf. Hennie suddenly turned to me and said: "Doc, we'll beat Scotland by double figures."

I warned: "Hennie, don't talk out of turn. This is a test; this is no ordinary match."

He said: "Doc, this is turf - this is like Newlands at its best. Scotland will never be able to hold us on this ground."

And of course, we went on to beat them 44-0. I'll never forget Hennie's joy in the dressing room after the match; he threw his arms around me and cried. He was a very emotional man, never afraid to show his feelings.

The Wallabies in '53 were beaten comfortably in the first test but we lost the second. We were trying to play their type of game and Hennie had tears in his eyes when he said: "Dokkie, what must we do? To have lost against this team is impossible."

I said: "Hennie, forget about trying to play the Wallabies at their game, lets play our own game, the type of rugby we played on the 51/52 tour, with the forwards laying the foundation and the backs rounding off the moves." We went on to beat them in the last two tests and there was Hennie again crying in the dressing-room, this time from pure joy. I've seldom seen people cry for joy but Hennie could.

He was a man's man, always up to pranks on the '51/52 tour. We used to "borsel" players on the suspicion that they had done something wrong. Coming back from Ireland on a rough sea to England, all the pyjamas went suddenly missing - everyone's.

I had seen Hennie and "Cowboy" Saunders looking slyly at each other and I immediately said: "Hennie and Cowboy". And my suspicion turned out to be well founded.

You could hear Hennie's laugh miles away - that high-pitched laugh of his was unmistakeable. A great player and a most lovable man. A tragedy that he was to die so young.