Born in
Gisborne and educated at
Gisborne Boys' High School, Henderson made his provincial rugby union début for
Hawke's Bay in 1944. Moving to
Wanganui, where he worked as a dental technician, he played rugby union for the Kaierau Club, and 26 representative matches for
Wanganui. He was a member of the ill-fated 1949
All Blacks side, captained by
Fred Allen, which lost all four tests on its
tour of South Africa. Henderson was top try scorer on the tour, with seven tries. Henderson excelled in several sports, including sprinting. Following his return from South Africa he had little time to change sports and get into serious sprint training for the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland. He won a bronze medal as part of the men's 4 x 110 yards relay alongside
Kevin Beardsley,
Arthur Eustace and
Clem Parker. He also competed in the 100 yards where he placed fifth in the final. A medium-sized
wing at 1.72 m and 81 kg, Henderson is still credited with being one of the fastest All Blacks of all time, Henderson returned to club and representative rugby in Wanganui, playing three tests against the touring
British Lions in 1950, and against them for Wanganui. In all, he played 19 matches for the All Blacks, including seven internationals. He signed with
Huddersfield, where he stayed for seven years. He played on the in
Huddersfield's 15–10 victory over
St. Helens in the
1953 Challenge Cup Final during the
1952-53 season at
Wembley Stadium,
London on Saturday 25 April 1953, in front of a crowd of 89,588. He also played for the
Other Nationalities side that won the 1953 tri-nations test series against England and France. Henderson played on the in Huddersfield's 18–8 victory over
Batley in the
1952 Yorkshire Cup Final during the
1952–53 season at
Headingley,
Leeds on Saturday 15 November 1952. ==References==