Hooker Azam has 10 international caps for France to his name

Hooker Olivier Azam believes Gloucester have the quality to score back-to-back Amlin Cup wins against La Rochelle.

Gloucester travel to France on Saturday for the first of their two fixtures with La Rochelle in Pool Five.

"If we manage to win the two games we end up in pole position - with the pedigree of Gloucester we should win them," Azam told BBC Gloucestershire.

"But it's always easy to speak yourself up before the game - when you go down there you know it's going to be tough."

Saturday's opponents currently top the group having won both of their games so far, while Gloucester are second having beaten Italian minnows Rovigo but lost to Agen.

La Rochelle are new to the top flight in France after winning promotion in 2009-10, but Azam expects them to be very different opponents to Agen.

"They've got quite an expansive game which Agen didn't have and up front they've got very big men so they've got a good challenge to pose to us," he said.

"We're going to have to go there and be ready straight away. The French boys don't want to give in easily to the English do they?"

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