Mark Ella: Catch, pass and support genius

Mark Ella is another player who did not depend on rugby union for his life satisfaction.

I wrote recently that if a player’s mind is distracted by other prominent issues and goals and if their focus is not reliant on playing well or winning a game, they perform better.

Was Mark Ella playing for his Indigenous people rather than Mark Ella the person?

His performances were not based on ego. Why else would you retire at the tender age of 25?

Fame and fortune awaited him. I assume that Ella’s parents must have instilled in him a great awareness of what a celebrity-like status would do to him.

Instead, he went on another path, which has been far more rewarding. The character of the man was shown when he was awarded the Order of Australia, when he wondered if he deserved such an honour, when there were many other people doing more demanding work.

Rugby union was only part of his life, not all his life. We see players today who rely on rugby for their sole occupation and meaning.

If they are injured or dropped, what do they have left?

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Mark Ella had plenty left and appeared to make a seamless move towards new careers and opportunities.

He grew up in a family of 12 children and his parents knew that it was important to get a good education, which Ella has also ingrained in his own children.

I am not sure if a good education helps a rugby player or being a good rugby player helps his education?

Ella’s sister Marcia played netball for Australia and the whole family achieved academic and sporting success.

Mark’s brothers Glen and Gary also played for Australia. Born in Sydney and educated at Matraville High School, the brothers were members of the undefeated 1977-78 ‘Invincibles’ Australian schools side.

The three brothers had an almost telepathic understanding between them, which can be compared to the famous Going brothers from Northland, New Zealand.

All Blacks scrumhalf Sid Going runs the ball for the All Blacks against the Lions. (Credit: Adrian Murrell/Allsport/Getty Images)

I just had a thought: can you imagine a back line of the Goings and Ellas? There may be a need for some reshuffling, but it would be impossible to find the ball!

Ella also conducted club side Randwick to five consecutive titles from 1978 to 1982.

Mark Gordon Ella was born in La Perouse, New South Wales in 1959. He first came into contention for the Wallabies when he played for NSW and Sydney in 1979 against the touring Irish.

After Bob Templeton became coach, Ella was selected for the Wallabies’ tour of Argentina, also gaining selection for the 1980 tour of Fiji.

Ella made his Test debut against the All Blacks in 1980, when the Wallabies won their first three-Test series since 1949.

His around-the-body pass to Michael Hawker in the third Test became one of his famous moments.

In a conservative approach, he was dropped for Paul McLean against the French in 1981 but was reinstated in the second Test when McLean was selected at fullback.

In 1982 Ella was appointed captain of the Wallabies at the age of 23 for their tour of New Zealand.

He captained the Wallabies on ten occasions overall. It was a depleted team that lost the series 2-1 but scored 47 tries in 14 matches.

The defining time of Mark Ella’s career came on the 1984 Wallabies tour of the United Kingdom when the Wallabies defeated the four home nations Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales on their grand slam expedition.

Andrew Slack was the chosen skipper ahead of Ella for the tour. Ella scored a try in each Test, something he also achieved on the 1977 schoolboys tour.

The catch, pass and support principle practised by Mark Ella proved to be of enormous benefit to the Wallabies’ team.

He stood flat near the scrum, making him an easy target for the opposition flanker, who was then taken out of the play. A quick catch and pass to his outsides led to gaps being created.

Once the outside backs were in the clear, Ella would accelerate to offer his support either inside or outside the dominant runner. The hard work was done, now he had an easy stroll to the try line.

It is such a simple philosophy that it is a wonder other standoffs did not emulate it. Maybe the required skill level was too high to copy such a plan? Michael Lynagh was one who followed the catch, pass and support theory.

Gareth Edwards, the great Welsh halfback, wrote: “in rugby, the word link-man is almost a cliché, yet it is the term I must choose to sum up Mark’s gifts. Off-the-ball running is a true sign of greatness.”

The London Observer described him as “the detonator, which explodes the brilliance of the Australian backs”.

After the tour, Mark Ella made the shock announcement he was retiring. Was he unhappy at the more serious approach of Wallabies coach Alan Jones?

In 2021 he donated his five jerseys from the 1984 tour to the Australian Rugby Museum.

From 1979 to 1984 Mark also played for the Australian Sevens team, winning three Hong Kong tournaments.

(Photo by Getty Images)

He also played in Milan, Italy with his teammate David Campese. Campese praised Ella as “the best rugby player I have known or seen”.

Roger Gould, Simon Poidevin, Michael Hawker and Michael O’Connor confirmed Ella was one of the greatest players they had witnessed. Hawker said: “Ella changed precepts on how the game could be played.”

Rugby League Immortal Wally Lewis, who played with Ella on the schoolboys tour, called Ella “the best player he had seen in either rugby union or league”.

Ella was inducted into Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1987 and in 2013, sports magazine Inside Rugby named him as one of their four Invincibles, along with David Campese, Colin Windon and Ken Catchpole.

In 1982, Ella was named Young Australian of the Year and in 1988 he was manager of the Aboriginal Cricket Association tour of England.

In 2005, he was honoured as one of the inaugural five inductees into the Australian Rugby Union Hall of Fame and in 1997 he was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame.

After retiring, Mark Ella became director of Horton Ella Marketing, responsible for the marketing strategies of the Bundaberg Rum Company.

He has been employed at NITV, Australia’s free-to-air Indigenous television station. In 2011, he became executive producer and head of NITV sport.

Mark Ella was like a comet sweeping across the night sky. He burnt brightly for a fleeting period, but left people in awe at what they had seen.

Did he get out at the right time and is that a lesson to others? If it is your sole income, like it is for many rugby players today, you have no choice but to stay on and try and build a future.

But what happens when that comes crashing down? It shows that as an amateur player, it was important to be planning for life after rugby, whether it was through study or working in a chosen profession as well.

There are many adjectives to describe Ella: mercurial, silky, genius and incomparable.

He is the second of my favourite Wallabies players.