Mark Ella was one of three brothers to play
international rugby for Australia in the 1980s
and his twin brother Glen and younger brother
Gary can also be found on this site.
Career Record: Played 25, Won 13, Drew 1, Lost 11.
Test Points: 78, Tries: 6, Penalties: 8, Conversions: 3, Drop Goals: 8
1980 v New Zealand (Sydney) W 13-9
1980 v New Zealand (Brisbane) L 12-9
1980 v New Zealand (Sydney) W 26-10
1981 v France (Sydney) W 24-14
1981 v Scotland (Murrayfield) L 24-15
1982 v England (Twickenham) L 15-11
1982 v Scotland (Brisbane) L 12-7
1982 v New Zealand (Christchurch) L 23-16
1982 v New Zealand (Wellington) W 19-16
1982 v New Zealand (Christchurch) L 33-18
1983 v USA (Sydney) W 49-3
1983 v Argentina (Brisbane) L 18-3
1983 v Argentina (Sydney) W 29-13
1983 v New Zealand (Sydney) L 18-8
1983 v Italy (Rovigo) W 29-7
1983 v France (Clermont Ferrand) D 15-15
1983 v France (Paris) L 15-6
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1984 v Fiji (Suva) W 16-3
1984 v New Zealand (Sydney) W 16-9
1984 v New Zealand (Brisbane) L 19-15
1984 v New Zealand (Sydney) L 25-24
1984 v England (Twickenham) W 19-3
1984 v Ireland (Dublin) W 16-9
1984 v Wales (Cardiff) W 28-9
1984 v Scotland (Murrayfield) W 37-12
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One of Australia's all time greats, Mark Ella was a sublimely gifted fly-half who could run, pass and kick with equal aplomb. He and his two brothers Gary and Glen learned their rugby in the backyard of their Sydney home, and all three would go on to represent Australia at full international level. Mark was undoubtedly the star of the three and earned 25 caps in a four year career between 1980 and 1984. The full range of his skills were on show in the 1980 Bledisloe Cup series, notably his "round the body pass" in the third test which led to a try by Peter Grigg. Mark toured with the Wallabies when they visited the UK in 1981/82, but the Australian running game was nullified by appalling weather and an inability to dominate the opposition forwards.
Later in 1982 he was given the honour of captaining Australia against New Zealand and a chance to play against his hero Graham Mourie. Ironically, it was a loss of concentration by Mark which allowed the All Black legend to score a try in the first test and New Zealand eventually won the series 2-1. During that rubber Ella linked up with David Campese for the first time and the two immediately forged a great on field understanding. In 1984 question marks were raised over Mark's suitability to lead the Wallabies, and so Queensland rival Andrew Slack was given the honour instead. After narrow defeat by the All Blacks, Australia then toured the UK once again and achieved victory in all four tests. Mark achieved a "Grand Slam" of his own by scoring a try in every test match, a feat he had also accomplished on the 1977/78 Australian Schoolboys tour. He then stunned the rugby world by retiring from the game at just 25, turning down numerous big money offers from the rival code in the process. (Jon Collins)
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