Gloucester Rugby have confirmed that hooker Olivier Azam and prop Alasdair Dickinson have extended their stays at the club.

Gloucester Rugby have confirmed that Olivier Azam and Alasdair Dickinson have agreed extended contracts with the club.

A favourite with the Kingsholm faithful, Azam returned to Gloucester in the summer of 2004 after a short one-year spell playing for French club Montferrand.

He previously spent three years at Gloucester and notched up over 120 appearances for the West Country club.

He made his Gloucester debut in 2000 and has gone on to make approaching 200 appearances in all competitions. He has also won 10 French caps.

Renowned for his aggressive, hard hitting mentality, Azam has had to compete with the likes of Australian international Jeremy Paul, England international Andy Titterrell and Scotland international Scott Lawson for the No 2 shirt yet remains a regular first team selection.

Dickinson signed for Gloucester from Edinburgh in the summer of 2007 and linked up with his new team mates after featuring for his country in the 2007 Rugby World Cup making his debut against New Zealand after being called up as a replacement for Allan Jacobsen.

He made his first start in the RBS Six Nations this year and went on to play in all five matches in the tournament, starting three.

2008-9 really saw him force his way into the Gloucester first team on a regular basis as he made 20 appearances in total.

Head Coach Bryan Redpath was pleased to see both players commit themselves to the club.

"It's very good news. They've both been integral squad members over the past couple of seasons and will have a big part to play this season," said Redpath.

"They're both international calibre players with a huge amount of domestic and European experience."

"We've added a few young up and coming players to our front row resources this season so their know how will be crucial."