After a few months hiatus, he returned to the job in 1994 and stayed there for nine further years and finished his time there winning the penultimate Challenge Yves du Manoir in 2003.
After leaving La Rochelle, he joined Béziers but he was sacked in 2005 after less than two years in charge as they were relegated from the Top 16.
Soon after leaving Béziers, in March 2005 he became backs coach to the Japan national rugby union team, and three months later after Mitsutake Hagimoto was sacked he was appointed the first ever foreigner to coach Japan, and was backed to lead them to the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
However he was sacked after just 40 days in charge after Bayonne continued to struggle and failed to win a game under him in the Top 14, and as he left he was criticised by the Bayonne owner Alain Affleou who said "Élissalde was a mistake, he had a negative attitude towards the players".
His father-in-law Laurent Bidart also played for La Rochelle and won 1 cap for France in 1953.