still think he is the best player I played outside of. I enjoyed playing outside him. Such good service. Good, quick ball. You knew playing outside Mark something was on every time. Have a crack. You won’t die wondering.’ In 2002 former Welsh eightman Eddie Butler, who played against Ella in 1984, ranked Ella at number one in his list of the 10 best fly-halves in the history of rugby union. In 2003 Butler called Ella "My all-time favourite [player]' and asserted he was '... by a long way the most influential player of his generation. Just took the passing game and the support game and the reading game and just stretched, stretched them into new areas.'" In 2020, former England flyhalf Stuart Barnes ranked Ella the third greatest five-eighth of all-time, behind All Black Dan Carter and Wales' Phil Bennett. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 1984 Australia Day Honours for services to rugby, and was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1987. He received a Centenary Medal and an Australian Sports Medal in 2001. In 2013, Ella was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame. In 2013 Australian sports magazine Inside Rugby named its four Australian Invincibles – a rugby union equivalent of rugby league's Immortals. Mark Ella was named alongside Col Windon, Ken Catchpole and David Campese as the first Invincibles of Australian rugby. Notes References Clarke, David; Mason, Roy and Samuelson, Stephen (1999) Test Rugby Lists, Noble Park, Victoria: The Five Mile Press External links Sporting Heroes, Mark ELLA – Australia 1980–84 Mark Ella in conversation with Richard Fidler (audio available) 2003 Interview in the Independent 1959 births Living people People educated at Matraville Sports High School Australian rugby union captains Indigenous Australian rugby union players Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players Rugby union fly-halves World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees Members of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Recipients of the Centenary Medal Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Rugby union players from Sydney Australian autobiographers