Mark Ella

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Mark Gordon Ella (born 5 June 1959 in La Perouse, Sydney) is a former Australian rugby union player often considered as one of his country's all-time greats in that sport. In a relatively short career (he retired in 1984, aged only 25), Mark Ella established himself as one of the all-time greats in world rugby. Many contemporaries, ranging from David Campese to the rugby league player Wally Lewis, still rate Ella the best player they have ever seen on a rugby union field. (Ella, 1995, blurb) He and his brothers Gary and Glen were educated at and learned their rugby at the publicly funded Matraville High School and all went on to play for the Australia national team. Mark was generally regarded as the best of the three, earning 25 caps in a brief but brilliant career stretching from 1980 to 1984.

Contents

[edit] Ella the Player

[edit] The flat attack

Playing at five-eighth, Mark Ella was a proficient exponent of a style of attack often referred to as ‘the flat attack’ – a close-quarters game built on constant support. The style is applied in one specific area of play – open-side attack by the backline with the ball in hand. However, the flat attack philosophy involves more than giving the backline the ball and leaving it to their devices. It demands that all 15 players possess ball handling skills and the instincts to support one another to keep the ball ‘alive’.

There are several obvious characteristics of this style. Firstly, rather than standing deep, the attacking backs stand flat. The philosophy being that an attacking team cannot put the opposing defence under pressure until it comes under pressure itself. (Dwyer, 1992, p.24) In the case of an attacking side making a break the opposition cover defence will possibly be deprived of the necessary time to make the defending tackle. Because support play is crucial when utilising the flat alignment, standing flat had its advantages. Mark Ella explains these advantages in the book Running Rugby: “When receiving the ball you must be almost abreast of the player passing to you. If you take the ball a few metres behind him, he is automatically out of the game until you move ahead of him. This means several moments are lost before he can run in support, which is a delay no team can afford.” (Ella, 1995, p.17) Because rugby laws require that players pass the ball backwards, standing flat makes it easier for the ball carrier to run ahead of his support, thus bringing them back into the game.

Secondly, the backs are required to literally run straight, parallel to both side lines, to commit their opposite number into tackling them. This provides the attacking team an advantage in numbers. Bob Dwyer explains this advantage in his autobiography The Winning Way: “It (the attacking team) can always inject the fullback or blind winger, or both, into the backline and so end up with an extra man, or men. The opposition cannot do this in defence, of course, because not knowing where the attacking team is going to direct the ball, it has to keep all parts of the field covered. It has to have a fullback in the fullback’s position and a blind-side winger. Once the attacking movement is under way, however, the attacking team begins to lose its advantage in numbers whenever an attacking player passes the ball without in some way engaging the defender. If there are five attacking players opposed by four defenders and the first attacking player passes the ball without occupying the first defender, the attacking players will then be outnumbered by the defenders four to three.” (Dwyer, 1992, p.24)

Because proponents of the flat alignment are expected to execute their moves near the gain line, where they subject themselves to the sudden pressure of the opposition engaging them, it is also vital that players stand close together, so they do not become separated or isolated from each other. Standing close also increases the opportunity for support, which is vital when players commit themselves to be tackled. In regular circumstances, standing flat often allows the opposition a quick opportunity for an intercept. Standing close together ensures the ball can be moved along quickly as the opposition line rushes towards you, making it less likely for the opposition to intercept the ball. This requires safe handling skills and refined passing ability as it drastically increases the speed at which the game is played. Players are expected to employ “sympathetic passing”, which means passing the ball in a manner that makes it most likely for the player to catch the ball.

This is a rare and seldom seen style of rugby as it involves considerable risk. As a method of attack it requires players be well practiced, disciplined and have confidence as it is liable to break down. In particular, it enforces tremendous pressure on the attacking inside backs. Mark Ella explains the difficulty involved in applying oneself to this method of attack: “A team has to have an enormous amount of discipline to play the running game properly. The running angles need to be just right, the support play has to operate like clockwork, the forwards have to be exactly coordinated, and all fifteen players have to be tuned to the same wavelength.” However, the application of the flat alignment by the Wallabies in the early 80s, with Ella as the chief architect of their plays, brought Australia what was then, unprecedented success in their rugby history. It was also lauded in many places for its entertainment value, thrilling crowds with its speed and emphasis on support play.

[edit] The five-eighth

In his first autobiography The Winning Way, former Australian rugby coach Bob Dwyer acclaimed Ella one of the five most accomplished Australian players he had ever seen, hailing him as number one “for mastery of the game’s structure” (Dwyer 1992: 40). This is perhaps due to his perspective on how the five-eighth should operate. “A five-eighth’s primary function is to draw defence and so open up space for the runners outside him” (Dwyer 1992: 55). This conveys how Ella approached playing the five-eighth position. Once described by the London Observer as ‘the detonator which explodes the brilliance of the Australian backs at critical moments’ (Ella & Smith, 1987: 54), Ella figured prominently in Australia’s rugby success during his career, trapping in defenders and unleashing team-mates into space, before running in support of the ball carrier.

A proficient exponent of the flat attack style, Ella’s approach to playing the five-eighth position was unique and different from that of any other five-eighth of his era. Ella’s method of attack involved many obvious characteristics different from those of his five-eighth contemporaries. Gareth Edwards writes in 100 Great Rugby Players, “Firstly, he stands closer to his scrum-half than most other stand-off halves I have played with or against, so that he pulls back row forwards on him at an angle which makes it hard for them to change direction, once he has released possession, to harass the midfield” (Edwards, 1987:55). Ella describes the distance from which he stood from the scrum-half in his book Running Rugby, “Generally, I stood about 5 metres from the halfback and about 4 metres behind him. According to the old formula for the right-angled triangle, this means I was no more than 3 metres wide of him” (Ella, 1995: 86). It is not of the norm for five-eighths to stand so flat as it demands exceptional handling and passing skills of the five-eighth.

Relatively straight running was a distinguishable trait associated with Ella’s game. This was intended to draw defenders towards him at a certain angle and help unleash his team mates into gaps. Ella writes: “By standing close, the five-eighth ensures that he draws the open-side flanker. Any five-eighth standing close will look like a sitting duck to the flanker, who is therefore keyed up to flatten him. This is just what the five-eighth wants. Provided he runs fairly straight, the flanker will not be able to resist coming at him, and at the appropriate moment, having drawn the flanker, the five-eighth unloads to the inside-centre. The moment this happens the flanker is out of the game, for he now has to turn around and chase. On the other hand, if the five-eighth stands wide or if he does not run fairly straight, the flanker can approach him at an angle. If the five-eighth then unloads, the flanker can continue on the same angle and nail the inside centre.” (Ella, 1995: 86) This was a key element in Ella’s game to ensure the success of his team-mates should a ‘break’ occur.

Standing flat demands exceptional ball handling skills, which were a hallmark of Ella’s game. Ella’s dependable hands were lauded by former Scottish rugby international Norman Mair in the Scotsman: ‘Ella has hands so adhesive that when he fumbled a ball against Scotland (in 1984) you would not have been surprised to see those Australians of the appropriate religious persuasion cross themselves’ (Ella & Smith, 1987: 54). Concerning the manner in which Ella regularly received the ball from his scrum-half; Ella gave no quarter to the speed at which the ball was delivered to him, regardless of how close he stood, trusting in his ability to safely hold the ball. Ella writes: “Once you have positioned yourself, the next thing is to demand a fast pass from the halfback. The quicker the ball reaches you the better, for every fraction of a second is important to the five-eighth, given that the opposition can be on top of him in less than two seconds. I used to insist on having the ball passed to me like a rocket (Ella, 1995: 91).” This evidences the dependability of Ella’s catching skill.

Ella possessed a distinguishing trait of instantaneously igniting a backline movement. His vision and ability to ‘read the play’ is evidenced by his much-vaunted passing game. Gareth Edwards notes, “He wastes no strides holding the ball he does not want to use, and flips it instantly on its way towards the wide open space down the touchline where danger-men like David Campese prowl” (Edwards 1987:55). Continuing his appraisal of Ella in the Scotsman, Norman Mair once wrote: “In his deft handling, the ball is often on in a fraction of a second” (Ella & Smith, 1987: 54). This, however, does not entail Ella passing the ball as fast as possible. The execution of Ella’s backline ploys were expertly controlled by the timing and speed of his passes. Ella writes: “Quick passes are often a sign that the five-eighth is not reading the play. He (the five-eighth) 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. By doing so, he is handing the initiative back to the opposition.” (Ella, 1995: 92) By engaging the defence so quickly and suddenly executing a backline movement, Ella was able to place the opposition defences under immediate pressure.

It was perhaps Ella’s support play; however, that was the most celebrated aspect of his game. Norman Mair concluded his appraisal of Ella’s form in the famous 1984 Grand Slam tour in The Scotsman by stating: “Nothing about the football of the likeable Ella excels his backing up. His ability to materialise in a given spot is of the spirit world.” (Ella & Smith, 1987: 54) The extent to which Ella supported his team-mates has been gauged by Gareth Edwards who wrote: “Having delivered his pass, he invariably, it seems to me, keeps moving, getting himself between centre and wing on an extended loop – or even outside his wing! Such off-the-ball running is a true sign of greatness...” (Edwards, 1987: 55) Throughout his career, Ella’s ability to ‘keep the ball alive’ resulted in many remarkable tries. Such “faultless positional play in support” (Dwyer, 2004, 183) resulted in a continuity of play which was regarded by many to have tremendous entertainment value. 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.” (Edwards, 1987, p.56)

[edit] International Career

In the 1980 Bledisloe Cup series, one of Ella's most famous moments arose. Mark delivered a "round the body pass" in the third test which led to a try by Peter Grigg. In 1982, he was given the honour of captaining the Wallabies (Australia) against the All Blacks (New Zealand). During that tour, Mark linked up with David Campese for the first time and the two immediately formed a formidable on-field partnership.

In 1984 questions were asked of Mark's suitability to lead the Wallabies and so the Queenslander Andrew Slack was given the captaincy instead. After a narrow defeat against the All Blacks the Wallabies toured the UK and achieved victory in all 4 tests. Mark achieved a "Grand Slam" by scoring a try in every test match of the series, something that he had also accomplished on the 1977/78 Australian Schoolboys tour.

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

Mark lives on the Central Coast of NSW and is now a marketing and public relations specialist and a director of the Sports and Entertainment Group.

In 2007 he published his eponymous autobiography co-written with journalist Brett Harris.


Preceded by
Mark Loane		 Australian national rugby union captain
1982-1984		 Succeeded by
Andrew Slack

[edit] External links

[edit] Bibliography

Clarke, David; Mason, Roy and Samuelson, Stephen (1999) Test Rugby Lists, Noble Park, Victoria: The Five Mile Press Dwyer, Bob - The Winning Way, 1992, Rugby Press Ltd

Dwyer, Bob - Full Time - A Coach's Memoir, 2004, Macmillan

Edwards, Gareth - 100 Great Rugby Players, 1977, Queen Anne Press

Ella, Mark - Running Rugby, 1995, ABC Books

Ella, Mark & Smith, Terry - Path to Victory, 1987, ABC Books

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