Olivier Azam (born 21 October 1974 in

Tarbes Tarbes (; Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. It is the capital of Bigorre and of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It has been a commune since 1790. It was known as ''Turba'' ...

) is a retired French

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

footballer. A hooker who could also cover prop, Azam spent most of his professional playing career in the

English Premiership The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby, as well as in the European Rugby Champions Cup. The club was formed i ...

. Azam also had 10 caps for

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 ...

. Azam made his Gloucester debut in August 2000 against

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

. During his first spell at Gloucester he started in the 2002 Zurich Championship Final (the year before winning the play-offs constituted winning the English title) in which Gloucester defeated

Bristol Rugby Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...

, as well as the 2003 Powergen Cup Final in which Gloucester defeated

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

. Azam returned to

in the summer of 2004 after one year with French outfit Montferrand. He notched over 140 appearances for the West Country club. Renowned for his aggressive, hard hitting mentality, Azam had to compete with

Wallaby A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized Macropodidae, macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same Taxonomy (biology), taxon ...

international Jeremy Paul and

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 ...

international

Andy Titterrell Andrew James Titterrell (born 10 January 1981 in Dartford, England) is a former rugby union player who played at hooker and previously for England. Titterrell was educated at the Hugh Christie Technology College in Tonbridge and Sevenoaks Sch ...

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 19 May 2011 Gloucester Rugby announced that Azam was leaving Gloucester. Shortly afterward, he chose to return to France to replace

Aubin Hueber Aubin Hueber (born 5 April 1967, in Tarbes) is a former French rugby union player and a current coach. He played for the French national team as a scrum half (1.75 m for 75 kg). From 2003 to 2006, he was a player-coach at the Rugby Club of Toulo ...

as forwards coach at Toulon. He left

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

in 2013 to become the new forwards coach for French side

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, replacing Tom Smith. On 15 December 2014, it was announced Azam would become the Director of Sport for

Oyonnax Oyonnax () is the second most populated commune in the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. Oyonnax lies in a valley of the Jura Mountains in the far north of Ain. It is near the Parc naturel régional du Haut- ...

from a three-year contract. Outside of sport, he runs a successful restaurant in

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

called Armagnac.

References

External links

Gloucester Rugby profile
1974 births Sportspeople from Tarbes Rugby union players from Occitania (administrative region) French rugby union players France international rugby union players Living people Rugby union hookers Gloucester Rugby players ASM Clermont Auvergne players RC Toulon coaches {{France-rugbyunion-bio-stub