Olivier Azam
Encyclopedia
Olivier Azam is a retired French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 footballer and current forwards coach at Top 14 club Toulon
RC Toulonnais
RC Toulonnais is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...

. A hooker who could also cover prop, Azam spent most of his professional playing career in the English Premiership at Gloucester Rugby. Azam also had 10 caps for France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...

.

Azam made his Gloucester debut in August 2000 against Saracens
Saracens F.C.
Saracens are a professional rugby union team based in St. Albans, England – although they play their home games at Vicarage Road, in Watford. They are currently members of the Aviva Premiership, the top level of domestic rugby union in England...

. Azam returned to Gloucester Rugby in the summer of 2004 after one year with French outfit Montferrand
ASM Clermont Auvergne
Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne are a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system, ASMCA are the were the 2010 France Top 14 Champions. It is the rugby section of the multi-sport club...

. He notched over 140 appearances for the West Country club.

Renowned for his aggressive, hard hitting mentality, Azam had to compete with Wallaby international Jeremy Paul
Jeremy Paul
Jeremy Paul is a New Zealand-born Australia rugby union player. He played hooker and prop for the wallabies and the ACT Brumbies.At the end of 2005, Paul was awarded the John Eales Medal, receiving 194 votes from his teammates...

 and England international Andy Titterrell
Andy Titterrell
Andrew James Titterrell is a rugby union player who plays at hooker for Leeds Carnegie and England.-Biography:...

 for the No. 2 shirt upon his return.

Azam was named the player of the season by Gloucester fans for the 2008/09 season.

On 19th May 2011 Gloucester Rugby announced that Azam was leaving Gloucester. Shortly afterward, he chose to return to France to replace Aubin Hueber
Aubin Hueber
Aubin Hueber is a former French rugby union footballer and a current coach. He played as a scrum-half.He first played at Stadoceste Tarbais, moving to Stade Bagnérais, in 1984, where he premiered in the first team and played until 1988...

 as forwards coach at Toulon.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK