GOLD DIGGER: The search for Australian rugby

EPISODE 34: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with Glen Ella

July 22, 2022 MATT DURRANT Season 1 Episode 34
GOLD DIGGER: The search for Australian rugby
EPISODE 34: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with Glen Ella
Show Notes

The Ella brothers are synonymous with Australian rugby and especially the era in which the Wallabies and the "running rugby" style took over the rugby world. Glen Ella, the twin of Mark and older brother of Gary, lived and played through it all from that Invincible Schoolboy Tour of 1977/78 to the dominant Galloping Greens of Randwick in the 80s and then the highest honour of  playing for the Wallabies with his brothers.

We talk to Glen about his thoughts on the state of rugby now in Australia, dissect that recent series loss to England and touch upon his friendship with current head coach and former Matraville High alumni Eddie Jones. Can attacking styles be dominant again in world rugby despite ever imposing defences? Is rugby at a critical juncture in Australia where the style of the game isn't as attractive a brand as it used to be? And did rugby in Australia miss a trick by not engaging more Indigenous athletes who now populate the AFL and NRL? An honest and engaging conversation with a former Wallaby who remains just as committed to the game as the day he was first introduced to it with his brothers at high school. Dig in!