Jan Ellis

Jan Hendrik Ellis (5 January 1942 – 8 February 2013) was a South African rugby union player who represented the Springboks in 38 tests, which at his retirement in 1976 was a record.

Early life Born in South Africa, Ellis' family moved to the then-South African protectorate of South West Africa, where he attended school in Gobabis, a town in a sheep and cattle-farming region. He gained selection to the South West African Schools side, in which he was appointed captain. Ellis would play for his high school in the mornings and turn out for the town's senior team later in the day.

Career Determined from early on to make a name for himself as a rugby player, Ellis adhered to a punishing fitness regime throughout his career. He was frequently seen around Windhoek running up hills and carrying rocks in his hands to increase his gripping strength. But when he was not selected, Ellis returned to his brother's farm near Gobabis, determined never to play rugby again. Greyling excelled in close-quarter ball-recovery at breakdowns, allowing Ellis to defend wider out and play the attacking role.

As part of the Scottish Rugby Union's centenary celebrations in 1973 Ellis was invited to play in a SRU's presidents XV on 31 March 1973 against Scotland. In April he and Greyling were selected for SRU's President's VIIs side which contested the first unofficial rugby sevens world cup, featuring teams from all eight members of the then-International Rugby Board. Although South Africa was not invited, Springbok fullback Ray Carlson was included alongside Ellis and Greyling.

Ellis played his final match for South West Africa in their 31 August 1974 contest at the Suidwes Stadion against Griqualand West as captain. He scored two tries in their 61–21 defeat of the visitors.

Ellis captained Transvaal in its outing against the visiting All Blacks on 31 July 1976 at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. Transvaal fielded five players who were injured or ill, including Ellis, who had been bed-ridden with influenza. Nevertheless, his performance was described in the press as better than in the first test. Captions to press photographs of the match referred to his characteristic ball-in-one-hand runs and even an American football-style overhead pass. earning him the nickname "Die Rooi Duiwel" (The Red Devil). Director Jamie Uys exploited Ellis' temper in his candid camera movie Funny People (1976) by getting him to respond aggressively to an unwitting motorist in a prank involving hidden car horns placed near a stop sign.

Ellis was renowned for his blunt opinions and challenged the South West African rugby establishment so often that he was sometimes omitted in retribution. As a result, he played more matches for South Africa than for his provincial side. In the first test in Pretoria of the 1968 Lion's tour to South Africa Ellis broke Barry John's collar bone with a high tackle. New Zealand journalist Terry McLean claimed that Ellis had punched All Black captain Andy Leslie in the 31 July 1976 match between Transvaal and the All Blacks hard enough to cause a hairline fracture in his jaw. Ellis vehemently denied hitting Leslie, but McLean suggested that this incident, added to a loss of form, were the reasons Ellis lost his place in the Springbok team. At the after-match event Ellis commented that Leslie had gotten what he deserved.

But Ellis was also on the receiving end of foul play; for example, by All Black Colin Meads in 1970, who in turn found himself the target in a match against Eastern Transvaal in which 12 New Zealand players were injured.

A contrasting side to his personality is demonstrated by Ellis' willingness to visit a hospital and talk to a club player during the 1969-70 Springbok tour of Britain.

Ellis' international career coincided with a period in which South Africa was increasingly isolated through sanctions due to its apartheid policies, and outgoing rugby tours, like the Springboks' 1969–70 visit to the British Isles, were met with sustained demonstrations abroad.

After retiring from rugby Ellis, who had moved to South Africa to play for Transvaal, eventually settled on his Kaalfontein small-holding outside Rayton near Cullinan, where he developed several businesses bearing his name, including an auctioneering firm, a shopping centre, and a filling station. On 22 December 2000 he was shot and seriously wounded in an armed robbery by masked assailants at one of his business premises. One of Ellis' kidneys had to be removed in an emergency operation and he never fully recovered from his wounds. Frik du Preez and Piet Greyling were among the surviving teammates who attended his funeral service at the Reformed Church in Cullinan.

In expressing condolences to Ellis' family, Oregan Hoskins, then-president of the South African Rugby Union, remembered Ellis as "one of the greatest Springbok loose forwards of any era...one of those unbelievably tough Springbok forwards for which our country is renowned. Nominated as the South African Rugby Player of the Year in 1971 and 1972. A rugby stadium in Gobabis was named after him as were streets in Danville, Pretoria and Centurion, Gauteng.