In 2010 Elsom was named at blindside flanker in a European dream team by the ERC to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the Heineken Cup.

Ten days after a 'Man of the Match' performance in Leinster's victory in the 2009 Heineken Cup Final against Leicester Tigers, Elsom negotiated a return to Australia and the test arena, agreeing to terms with the ARU and ACT Brumbies.

Following Elsom's success on the schoolboy stage, he spent two seasons with the Canterbury Bulldogs rugby league club in Sydney and was a front-row prop in their 2001 premiership-winning Jersey Flegg Cup side.

Elsom continued to progress in the Australian rugby scene, featuring in 12 of the Waratahs 13 games during the 2005 season,[citation needed] which saw the side make it to the final, only to be defeated by the Crusaders.

The incident was in retaliation to Engels joining a fight between NSW Prop Matt Dunning and Richard Bands in a Super 12 Match in Pretoria.

Englis and Dunning received 1 and 3 weeks suspension for their part in the incident, while Elsom's heftier ban was justified by repeated blows to the head of an opponent.

In 2008 Elsom was awarded the 'Wallaby of the Year' after playing in all but one match of the Wallabies' Tri-nations tests and scoring a crucial try to defeat the All Blacks in Sydney.

He was instrumental in Leinster winning their first title, awarded man of the match in two of the three playoff games, including the final, where he was credited with inspiring the pack to a 19–16 victory over the Leicester Tigers.

[6][7] In June 2009 Elsom signed a two-year contract with the ACT Brumbies, citing his desire to resume his international career with the Wallabies as the deciding factor in his decision.

[10] At the end of the tour, his captaincy record for the Wallabies stood at two wins (against England and Wales), two losses (against New Zealand and Scotland), and a draw against Ireland in which he scored a try at the 60th minute to put his team back in front.

In the first Bledisloe Cup Match of 2010, Elsom captained his side to a defeat, where the Wallabies managed to put 28 points on the All Blacks with only 14 men for more than 50 minutes of the game after Drew Mitchell was controversially sent off.

[16] An international arrest warrant was issued on 12 October 2024 by France, after Elsom was found guilty in absentia of fraud, having embezzled €700,000 when he was president of RC Narbonne.

[18] In an interview just prior to his conviction, Elsom indicated he still owned a construction business in Queensland, Australia, and was coaching at Catholic University School in Dublin.