Gloucester hooker Olivier Azam has been handed a three-month suspension from rugby union after kicking out at Saracens’ Steve Borthwick last month.

Azam was cited after striking the England captain during a Guinness Premiership match between the two sides at Vicarage Road on September 27th – which left England captain Borthwick with temporarily impaired vision.

The French player pleaded guilty to the offence at an RFU disciplinary hearing, but was nevertheless handed a stern sanction.

Azam’s ban means he will not be allowed to play for Gloucester before December 29th – ruling him out of the club’s first four Heineken Cup pool matches and the first two rounds of the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

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