and wing on an extended loop– or even outside his wing! Such off-the-ball running is a true sign of greatness ... Throughout his career, Ella's ability to ‘keep the ball alive’ resulted in many remarkable tries. Such “faultless positional play in support,” 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.” International career Ella came into contention for national selection during the 1979 Ireland rugby union tour of Australia that included two Tests. On 26 May 1979, Ella played for New South Wales in Ireland’s third tour game which NSW lost 12-16. Ella also played for Sydney in Ireland’s seventh tour game, which Sydney won 16-12. Irish captain and flanker Fergus Slattery stated, following the tour, that Mark Ella was the Australian five-eighth who troubled Ireland the most. Ella was again overlooked for national selection for Australia’s one-off Bledisloe Cup Test in 1979 against New Zealand, which Australia won 12-6 in a tryless Test. Following Australia's 1979 Bledisloe Cup victory, Bob Templeton replaced Dave Brockhoff as coach of the Australia national rugby union team. With Australia scoring one try in their past three Tests, Templeton selected Ella for the 1979 Australia rugby union tour of Argentina. Ella made his debut for the Wallabies during their second touring match against Interior on 16 October 1979, scoring a try in a 47-12 win. Ella played in Australia's fourth touring match against Rosario, which Australia won 21-13. Ella almost achieved national selection for the first Test following injuries to Paul McLean and Roger Gould. The possibility arose that the Australian selectors might move incumbent five-eighth Tony Melrose to fullback, allowing Ella to fill the five-eighth role. However, McLean played fullback with a broken wrist in plaster, denying Ella the possibility of playing his first Test for Australia. Between the first and second Australian Tests against Argentina, Ella played in Australia's last provincial match against Cuyo, won 43-4. In 1980 Australia's incumbent five-eighth, Tony Melrose, turned professional to play rugby league. Following this, Ella was selected for the 1980 Australia rugby union tour of Fiji. Ella was a