The 44-year-old announced in October that this would be his last season at the helm after three years as director of rugby, preceded by seven as assistant coach and another 17 years as a Connacht player.
During that time he made more than 150 appearances for the province, winning 35 caps for Ireland along the way and nearly 6,000 Connacht fans stayed after the final whistle to bid farewell to the Galway legend.
Elwood, who appeared in both the 1995 and 1999 World Cups for his country, told the Galway News: "It had been coming for a long time.
"I made my decision last September so obviously I knew the night was going to come, I knew it was going to be emotional but I was totally taken aback by the reaction of the crowd afterwards.
"I went to the four corners of the pitch and wanted to clap and thank everyone for staying on.
"Obviously I saw a few people I knew in the crowd and it got a bit emotional at times. All in all it was very special. Those last 15 minutes on the pitch at the end saying goodbye was very special.
63x46.png){kind=logo}