In 1984 questions were asked of Mark's suitability to lead the Wallabies and so the Queenslander Andrew Slack was given the captaincy instead. After a narrow defeat against the All Blacks the Wallabies toured the UK and achieved victory in all 4 tests. Mark achieved a "Grand Slam" by scoring a try in every test match of the series, something that he had also accomplished on the 1977/78 Australian Schoolboys tour. At age 25, Ella stunned the rugby world by announcing his retirement, turning down many big money offers in the process.