Oliver Zono


Oliver Zono is a South African rugby union player for the in the Currie Cup and in the Rugby Challenge. His regular position is fly-half.

Rugby career

Border Bulldogs

Zono was born and grew up in Fort Beaufort. He played youth rugby for the team in the 2009 and 2010 Under-19 Provincial Championships, before representing the University of Fort Hare in the Varsity Shield competition in 2013 and 2014.
He made his first class debut for the in the 2014 Vodacom Cup, coming on as a replacement in their match against the in Bloemfontein, 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 competition as his team's top scorer, despite making just two appearances. He scored 17 points 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-based team until 2017, making a total of 44 appearances in four seasons.

Southern Kings

In August 2017, the Port Elizabeth-based franchise announced that they signed Zono for the 2017–18 Pro14 season, their first campaign in the competition after losing their Super Rugby membership. He made his debut in that competition as a replacement in their Round Two match against in Galway, 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.