23 Facts About Mark Ella

Mark Ella made his debut tour with the Wallabies on the 1979 Australia rugby union tour of Argentina.

Mark Ella was the first indigenous Australian to captain a national sports team.

Mark Ella captained a depleted Australian team on the 1982 Australia rugby union tour of New Zealand, which the Wallabies would lose one game to two against the All Blacks.

Mark Ella is perhaps most famous for his performances on the 1984 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, during which Australia achieved rugby union's Grand Slam by defeating the Home Nations in four consecutive Tests, with Mark Ella scoring one try in each Test.

Bob Dwyer, former coach of the Wallabies, in his first autobiography The Winning Way, claimed Mark Ella to be one of the five most accomplished Australian players he had ever seen.

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Mark Ella writes: “Once you have positioned yourself, the next thing is to demand a fast pass from the halfback.

Mark Ella possessed a distinguishing trait of instantaneously igniting a backline movement.

Mark Ella writes: “Quick passes are often a sign that the five-eighth is not reading the play.

Mark Ella is throwing a quick pass automatically, believing this is what he ought to be doing, without making an assessment of the play and of the opportunities that might exist at that moment.

In 100 Great Rugby Players, Gareth Edwards concludes his writings on Ella by stating: “In this book, we are mainly concerned with players' outstanding ability to play the game, but it is worth adding here that Mark Ella provided tremendous entertainment to spectators, as well as demonstrating his skills.

Mark Ella came into contention for national selection during the 1979 Ireland rugby union tour of Australia that included two Tests.

Irish captain and flanker Fergus Slattery stated, following the tour, that Mark Ella was the Australian five-eighth who troubled Ireland the most.

Mark Ella almost achieved national selection for the first Test following injuries to Paul McLean and Roger Gould.

Mark Ella was a surprise omission at five-eighth for Australia's one-off Test against Fiji in 1980, after Queensland five-eighth Paul McLean was selected at fullback against Fiji.

However, Mark Ella was retained for the third Test against New Zealand with McLean selected on the bench.

At age 25, Mark Ella stunned the rugby world by announcing his retirement, turning down many big money offers in the process.

Mark Ella is a director of the Sports and Entertainment Group.

In January 2010 Mark Ella commenced work with the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council as sports and death manager.

In July 2021, Mark Ella agreed to donate his collection of five jerseys from the famous 1984 Wallabies grand slam tour to the Australian Rugby Museum, which is currently in development.

Mark Ella was the best player I played with or against in both codes.

Mark Ella was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1984, and was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1987.

Mark Ella received a Centenary Medal and an Australian Sports Medal in 2001.

Mark Ella was named alongside Col Windon, Ken Catchpole and David Campese as the first Invincibles of Australian rugby.