The most successful of the rugby-playing Ella brothers, eclipsing the achievements of his twin Glen and youngest sibling Gary, who also represented the Wallabies in the 1980s.

Mark Ella’s instinct for the game at fly-half accompanied by his incredible footwork and wonderful ball handling skills made him a nightmare to defend against and prompted David Campese to herald him as “the greatest player I have ever seen, or had the pleasure of playing alongside”.

The Randwick stalwart made his international debut in the boiling cauldron of Bledisloe Cup rugby in the first test of the 1980 series when the 21-year-old became an overnight household name.

Ella won a total of 25 caps and scored 78 points in his brief international career and captained Australia during the 1982 tour of New Zealand. He scored a try in each of the four tests on the 1984 Grand Slam-winning tour of the British Isles, after which he never played again.