Shy schoolboys whose talent shook the world

Brendan Gallagher delves into some of rugby’s most enduring images, their story and why they are still so impactful

- Brendan Gallagher

What’s happening here

It’s September 5, 1977 and three young unknown Aborigine kids have pulled over for a quick picture after an Aussies Schools fitness camp in Waverley ahead of their tour to Britain. In the middle is Gary Ella, just 17, who has his arms around twin brothers Glenn and Mark who are both 18. Glenn is on the left as we look.

Just a week before this picture was taken they were resigned to not making the trip which at A$750 a head was way too expensive for a family of modest means whose parents had 12 children to feed, but then a mysterious benefactor who signed himself Harry Ella send a cheque totalling A$2,250 to their school to cover the cost of their trip. In the last-minute rush before departure the brothers wrote heartfelt thankyou notes and left them with the secretary at Matraville School but Harry Ella – if that was his name – never did make himself known. A shame because his generosity helped change the course of Australian rugby.

Despite the big smiles they were nervous. Nobody was quite sure how good the Aussie Schools were as they embarked on their most ambitious ever tour. Their coaches felt they were an exceptional crop but everybody, including the three Ella brothers, had missed their cue at an important trial game a few weeks earlier when New South Wales Schools First XV – with Gary in midfield – lost 6-3 in a stodgy old game against New South Wales Schools Second XV who had Glenn and Mark on board. That nervous error-strewn encounter had dampened down expectations.