The Herald caught up with Marc Ellis as he was about to depart for Italy where he plans to live soon. Photo / Supplied
As we say goodbye to 2023 and welcome in 2024, it’s a good time to catch up on the very best NZ Herald sport content over the past 12 months. The following article was one of the best-read Premium articles in 2023. The story originally ran in July.
Marc Ellis is among the best-loved sports characters this country has ever had, a man with a maverick style that lifted the spirits.
Now the flamboyant former test back is trying to inject some magic back into rugby, a sport he says has lost its way.
The Ellis X-factor thrived in the All Blacks, Highlanders, Otago, Warriors and Kiwis.
That morphed into a successful business and TV career, where he mixed smarts with the larrikin persona so attractive to the public.
The 51-year-old Ellis now heads a group, including former test stars Taine Randell and John Timu, which has bought an 11 per cent share of their beloved Highlanders.
Ellis, who will be their board representative, believes a greater sense of fun can be good business for rugby union, and is hoping the struggling Highlanders can help spark that revival.
The Herald caught up with Ellis as he was about to depart for Italy where he plans to live soon, saying New Zealand has lost its mojo.
Ellis talks about his hopes for rugby and love of the high-flying Warriors, Saturday night’s test against the Springboks, why he plans to quit this country as his main home, his faith in Scott Robertson, World Cup concerns, and more.
Your debut at the Highlanders board table is looming...
It’s been bloody interesting, and great to have so many old players feel the connection to the place. Playing there gave us such a wonderful start... we’ve approached it as an opportunity to get back down south, doff the hat and say thanks.
What is your message to the franchise, coaches and players?
Everyone says it will be great and asks ‘what are you going to do’? I have said that, to be honest, it was an investment so I could go on the piss with some mates now and then.
But to be more holistic, we all experienced really good cultures down there. For Christ’s sake, have some fun, put a smile on your face... and maybe we can de-clutter some of the marginal time-consuming stuff, all the analysing and over-analysing in the game. If you have a unified belief and can bring back the joy in something, you can manifest a good culture and spirit.
Will it be difficult to foster that spirit from the board table?
Peter Kean, the chairman, is a good mate; the guys I’ve met over video conferencing all seem on the same page. I don’t think there will be any trouble unifying the board in terms of what’s required.
What makes Dunedin and Otago province so special is the supporters and their ability to work out whether the team is giving all it’s got. The people down south can smell the shit pretty quickly.
You’ve got to create fun – there are plenty of international examples of codes and sports that do entertainment and the whole engagement thing well. I’m sure there are things to learn and we can do it in a Dunedin type of way.
You are in marketing – what is your best advice for rugby?
I don’t watch much rugby these days. I find it a very difficult proposition – there is so much over-analysis.
How on earth are you going to grow rugby when there are 125 rules and the team that wins is the one that ends up with the most people on the field? Results are decided by referees and interpretations of those 125 rules, and half the time the players don’t even know what the penalty is for.
Solutions?
A genuine desire at the top to make it happen... to convince the body based in Europe that a more free-flowing game with less interference is a good idea.
The trouble is, that doesn’t suit the northern hemisphere rugby styles, apart from France who look to be doing some incredible things with high levels of skill.
But the Poms... that’s not their game. South Africa like a 10-man game – they want it as stop-start as possible.
Maybe the Highlanders can become the France of the south...
Wouldn’t that be nice? The game feels stale at the moment. It needs to become more compelling to watch, decided by the players rather than the referee.
There has got to be some evolution and maybe it can start in Dunedin. I hope it can be re-imagined a bit. There are lots of young guys in this Otago squad from what I understand who will be enthusiastic and keen, the key attributes to start something fresh.
Speaking of South Africa, Saturday’s test is being held at your old Warriors stomping ground Mt Smart Stadium...
Bloody brilliant... I go to a little bar in Italy which has every sports channel. I’ll probably be the only one there, watching the game at seven in the morning and having a beer.
I still enjoy watching the All Blacks, and it will be a cracking match between two opposing styles with different ethos and game plans.
Can South Africa’s very contrived, controlling and physical game cancel out our flair, or will we pull something out of the bag?
Mt Smart will be incredible for the game. It’s a great place to play – it feels like a proper rugby ground.
Any favourite memories of Mt Smart and the Warriors?
I loved it. The Warriors fans were brilliant and so were the players.
The professionalism of the league players was extraordinary, and their non-professional/amateur attitudes were refreshing. They were diametrically opposed to rugby players.
Even on the Otago team bus, you sat in the same seat, had a suit and tie on and when you got to the ground, every minute was planned out.
On my first Warriors bus, some people were three or four minutes late which would have got you dropped in rugby, whoever you were.
One of the Warriors boys got on with a hot dog and said “this bus has a DVD player” and stuck one on. People were cracking jokes and having fun on the way to the ground – it was stimulating and also off-putting. It wasn’t what I was used to.
Do you watch a bit of league still?
I’ve been watching more league than union to be honest. I’m thrilled with how the Warriors are going this season. It’s magnificent. They’ve got the country behind them, that’s for sure. My mates and I are watching the games together when we can.
There must be real honesty and integrity there and I think the coach [Andrew Webster] has to take credit for unifying the guys. He’s done a bloody good job to hunker down, make no promises, toil away and get the basics right.
In our day [former chief executive], Ian Robson was a great marketer but he would say we were going to win it, everyone would get excited, and that would put huge pressure on us.
You were part of a very successful and lively TV double act with Matthew Ridge... what do you think of rugby’s TV programming?
It seems very rugby-centric, which is good for die-hard fans. I watched the analysis after the Argentina test and it was a bit heavy for me, so I dare say a bit heavy for about half the audience. The true blues want that, but I could do without it.
Are you and Ridge still mates?
We never picked up the phone and got in touch but we liked each other’s company immensely. He lives in France, about a three-hour drive from my place in Italy. One of these days we will catch up, and it will be just like yesterday.
How do you earn a crust these days?
I’ve got a small advertising agency doing stuff primarily for Toyota. It’s one hell of a business to learn about on the inside. I’m actually trying to do as little as I can – my raison d’être at the moment.
Italy has become a big part of your life...
I’d like to get Italian citizenship – I’m going through the process now. Then I’ll be off [to live there].
I certainly think New Zealand’s finest days are behind it. We’re not at our peak. You don’t feel the same vibe or energy any more.
New Zealand feels as if it is being pulled apart at the seams. I thought we were egalitarian and unified but some people who feel slightly disenfranchised use that to exacerbate rifts for political reasons.
There is the cost-of-living problem and it has become a heavy place – it’s not the New Zealand of five years ago to me.
I’m among the more fortuitous people... but you get twice the product at half the price in Europe. It’s incredible really – it should be the other way around.
I’ve bought a place in Liguria up north, it’s cheap as chips, the water is 30C, the people are happy and there’s gorgeous food at reasonable prices. Fantastic. I go about half a dozen times a year.
Not far from this year’s World Cup either...
I’m going to watch the first game against France because that’s the only one I’m guaranteed to enjoy.
The greatest concern everyone has is that the World Cup will be decided by a referee.
The All Blacks will be no exception – we can’t afford to make mistakes.
The bigger nations want to get you down to 14 men, get you in a corner, and then grind you down, and that will be a hard thing to combat.
The All Blacks would rather throw caution to the wind – in an educated way – and attack, attack, attack. But they have to be more reserved.
I do fear that come the final, we’ll get a ref whose pants are pulled too high, who likes being on TV, and he won’t be able to help himself.
Finally, what are your thoughts on incoming All Blacks coach Scott “Razor” Robertson. Can he find the spirit you have talked about?
I’ve not spent a huge amount of time with him although we played against each other and I enjoyed his company at that Black Clash cricket thing.
I can see how he is a good motivator of men. I think he will be a breath of fresh air and bloody fantastic.
He’s a bit quirky and I suspect he’s probably got a different approach to each player, which probably diffuses the pressure quite nicely.
That said, the Canterbury region is so red and black and incredibly supportive – the All Blacks are slightly different to that.
But I think he will do it with aplomb – it’s going to be exciting times. If anyone is going to reinvent the wheel, he is the guy.
The former England winger opened up about his struggles post retirement.