Oliver Zono (born ) is a South African

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 ...

player for the in the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

and in the Rugby Challenge. His regular position is fly-half. As of 2020 he plays for

Krasny Yar Krasnoyarsk Krasny Yar Krasnoyarsk is a Russian rugby union club founded in 1969 in the city of Krasnoyarsk. They compete in the Professional Rugby League, the premier league in the country. They have an operating budget of 2.5m Euros. Their main rival is ...

in Russia.

Rugby career

Border Bulldogs

Zono was born and grew up in

Fort Beaufort Fort Beaufort (Xhosa: iBhofolo) is a town in the Amatole District of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, and had a population of 25,668 in 2011. The town was established in 1837 and became a municipality in 1883. The town lies at the confluen ...

. He played youth rugby for the team in the 2009 and 2010 Under-19 Provincial Championships, before representing the

University of Fort Hare The University of Fort Hare is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was a key institution of higher education for Africans from 1916 to 1959 when it offered a Western-style academic education to students from across sub ...

in the

Varsity Shield Varsity Cup is the collective name for four South African rugby union competitions involving the top rugby playing universities in the country. It was launched in 2008, with eight teams participating in the Varsity Cup competition and each univers ...

competition in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. He made his first class debut for the in the

2014 Vodacom Cup The 2014 Vodacom Cup was played between 7 March and 16 May 2014 and was the 17th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. This edition of the Vodacom Cup was played between fourteen provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Cu ...

, coming on as a replacement in their match against the in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

, before making his first start a fortnight later in their match against the . He made five appearances in the 2014 Currie Cup qualification series – scoring his first senior try in a 40–54 defeat to the in Kempton Park. – and two further appearances in the Currie Cup First Division. He established himself as a regular in the Border team, finishing the

2014 Currie Cup First Division The 2014 Currie Cup First Division was contested between 29 August and 17 October 2014. The tournament (also known as the Absa Currie Cup First Division for sponsorship reasons) was the second tier of South Africa's premier domestic rugby union ...

competition as his team's top scorer, despite making just two appearances. He scored 17 points (one try and 12 points with the boot) in a 30–32 defeat to the , and 14 points in his next match – a 44–20 win over the – via two tries and two conversions. He remained with the

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

-based team until 2017, making a total of 44 appearances in four seasons.

Southern Kings

In August 2017, the

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

-based franchise announced that they signed Zono for the

2017–18 Pro14 The 2017–18 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the seventeenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Pro14, Celtic League. It is the first season to be referred to as th ...

season, their first campaign in the competition after losing their

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

membership. He made his debut in that competition as a replacement in their Round Two match against in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

, and started their next match at home to . He made a total of nine appearances in his debut season, kicking seven conversions and three penalties for a personal points haul of 23 points.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zono, Oliver South African rugby union players Living people 1991 births Rugby union fly-halves Border Bulldogs players Southern Kings players Eastern Province Elephants players Rugby union players from the Eastern Cape People from Fort Beaufort