Jean-Baptiste Élissalde (born 23 November 1977) is a former

French rugby union The French Rugby Federation (french: Fédération Française de Rugby (''FFR'')) is the governing body for rugby union in France. It is responsible for the French national team and the Ligue nationale de rugby that administers the country's profe ...

player, playing either as a scrum-half or as a

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

, and current defense coach for

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

in the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

Biography

Early life

Born on 23 November 1977 in

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

, France, Élissalde is a third generation French international. His maternal grandfather Laurent Bidart and his father

Jean-Pierre Élissalde Jean-Pierre Élissalde (born 31 December 1953) is a rugby union coach and former player. Playing career Élissalde began his career with his local team La Rochelle. He went on to play for Bayonne for two years between 1978 and 1980 before returnin ...

both represented

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

at international level. Élissalde began playing rugby with

, where his father was a coach. He made his first appearance with the professional team in the 1997–8 season. Élissalde then gained caps with the France U21 team.

Toulouse

He played for

until 2002 when La Rochelle dropped from the top tier championship and decided to go to

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, where he initially had a hard time breaking into the senior squad, competing against the likes of

Frédéric Michalak Frédéric Michalak (born 16 October 1982) is a former French rugby union footballer. His early career was spent playing for his hometown team, Toulouse, in the Top 14 and in the Heineken Cup. He moved to South Africa to play for the Sharks in ...

and

Yann Delaigue Yann Delaigue (born April 5, 1973 in Vienne, Isère) is a retired French international rugby union player. A highly talented player, nicknamed « Little Mozart », he played the first two matches of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. In 2001 he was part ...

. He then became the first choice scrum-half at Toulouse and was competing with

Biarritz Olympique Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque (; ), usually known simply as Biarritz, is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Nouvelle-Aquitaine which competes in the Pro D2, the second division of French rugby. Biarritz p ...

Dimitri Yachvili Dimitri Yachvili Markarian (born 19 September 1980, in Brive-la-Gaillarde, Corrèze) is a French former rugby union footballer who played as a scrum-half for Biarritz and France. He played for France from 2002 to 2012, earning 61 caps and scori ...

for the No. 9 shirt in the French national team. Élissalde was a member of the Toulouse teams that won the

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

in 2005 and 2010, and the

winning team of 2008. In the 2005 Heineken Cup Final he scored three penalties to help his side defeat Stade Français.

International career

He made his international debut against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in the 2000 Six Nations as a replacement for fly-half Gérald Merceron and went on to score his first international points later that year in a test against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

with a try eight minutes after coming in, again for Merceron. Dropping to the France A side thus making no subsequent full international appearance until the 2003 Six Nations, he was unable to force his way into the 2003 French World Cup squad. Élissalde bounced back from this disappointment with a strong showing in the 2004 Six Nations, making his first international start against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

at scrum-half (pairing with his club-mate

at fly-half) and scoring 36 points in his three starts, including a 24-point haul against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, to help France claim their second Grand Slam in three years. The 2006 Six Nations was also successful for both Élissalde and

with a Championship success and despite being unable to participate in the 2007 Six Nations due to injury, Élissalde was finally established ahead of

in the French squad. Élissalde went to the 2007 World Cup in good form, but was left on the bench for the opener against Argentina. Following a terrible display by his replacement Pierre Mignoni, he was restored as the French made it to the semi finals. He scored a try and kicked 11 conversions for a tally of 27 points in an 87–10 thrashing against

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

. He kicked the winning conversion in the quarter final against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, a game which France won 20–18. Élissalde was limited to three appearances in the Six Nations in 2008, including the championship deciding loss to Wales in Cardiff. He gained the last of his 35 caps in November 2008 in a Test against the

Pacific Islanders Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oce ...

where he had to leave the pitch on a stretcher after 18 minutes when Napolioni Nalaga's high tackle left him unconscious.

Barbarians

Élissalde was selected to play for the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

for their 2010 Summer tour alongside club-mates

Cédric Heymans Cédric Heymans (born 20 July 1978) is a French former rugby union footballer who played mainly as a wing or a full-back for French Top 14 club Toulouse and the French national team. Known for his pace and his footwork, he started his club car ...

and

Census Johnston Census Johnston (born 6 May 1981) is a former Samoan rugby union player. He has represented Samoa several times, and was in the Pacific Islanders' (combined Fiji, Samoa, Tonga) team which toured Europe in November 2006 and earned 6 Caps with En ...

. He played in non-cap tests against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

. Élissalde featured in both tests, scoring 6 points in a loss to England and 3 points in a victorious test against Ireland.

Retirement

After winning the Heineken Cup in 2010 with Toulouse, Jean-Baptiste Élissalde announced his retirement from playing rugby with France and his club. Élissalde took up a position with Toulouse as a backs coach, replacing Philippe Rougé-Thomas, working alongside head coach

Guy Novès Guy Novès (born 5 February 1954) is a former French rugby union player and most recently coach of the French national team. Born in Toulouse, Novès, who played on the wing, was capped seven times for his country, and played with Stade Toulousa ...

and forwards coach

Yannick Bru Yannick Bru (born 22 May 1973) is a French rugby union coach, currently serving as the breakdown coach on South African team Sharks. He will become the head coach at Union Bordeaux Bègles in the Top 14 at the start of the 2023/24 season. Bru was ...

, leading the club to its 18th domestic title in 2011. In 2010, he briefly came out of retirement to be selected in the

French Barbarians The Barbarian Rugby Club, more commonly known as the French Barbarians, is a rugby union team formed in 1979 and based in France. It was founded as an amateur invitational team modeled on the Barbarian F.C. From the start of the 2017–18 season, ...

squad playing

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

on 26 November, a match which was part of the French Barbarians' 30th anniversary celebrations. Élissalde started in the fly-half position and scored 3 points in what is considered his jubilee. The Barbarians lost 28–27. In 2011 he once again came out of retirement as a World Cup joker when

Jean-Marc Doussain Jean-Marc Doussain (born 12 February 1991) is a French rugby union fly half. He plays club rugby for Stade Toulousain and has appeared for the French national U20 side. He made his debut for France with 5 minutes left of the 2011 Rugby World Cu ...

was selected as a late addition to the French World Cup squad to replace the injured

David Skrela David Skrela (born 2 March 1979) is a former French rugby union footballer. He most notably played for Stade Français and Toulouse in the Top 14 as well as the French national side as a fly-half or centre. He was renowned for his tackles and his ...

and played a single minute in the home game against

Agen The communes of France, commune of Agen (, ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. ...

as a scrum-half replacement to Nicolas Bézy, much to the fans' delight. As the

Stade Toulousain Stade Toulousain () ( oc, Estadi Tolosenc), also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Toulou ...

retained their Domestic Championship title that year, Élissalde became a two-time French champion both as a player and as a coach (in addition to already being a three-time European champion and a two-time Six Nations champion as a player).

Trivia

* His surname (''Elizalde'' in Standard Basque, from ''eliza'' "church" and ''alde'' "side"), means "near the church" in

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

Notes and references

External links

ERC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elissalde, Jean-Baptiste 1977 births Living people Sportspeople from La Rochelle French-Basque people French rugby union coaches French rugby union players Stade Toulousain coaches Stade Toulousain players Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union scrum-halves France international rugby union players Stade Rochelais players