Zono braves Siberia for a shot at glory

When he answers the call for this interview, Oliver Zono is ensconced in the warmth of his apartment in the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk in Siberia.

The digs, which are provided by his premier division club Krasny Yar, have proven to be an island of respite from the bitter cold that grips the city in the Russian winter. Temperatures can plunge to as low as -26°C, but, on Wednesday, Zono cheerfully reported that it had thawed to a balmy -1°C.

Zono’s braving the cold to play professional rugby is the reality of a growing number of South African players who have been sent to Siberia by the shrinking numbers in the professional ranks at home – many of them head to Russia because they can’t break into the lucrative European or Japanese market.

The diminutive (standing at 1.75m and weighing 78kg) former Border Bulldogs, Southern Kings and Eastern Province fly half is the only South African at the Russian Cup-winning Krasny Yar, who were also the league runners-up last season.

But cross-town rivals Krasnoyarsk boast more South Africans in former Springbok winger Bjorn Basson, prop Ewald van der Westhuizen, lock Jeremy Jordaan, centre Henko Marais, winger Dean Gordon and fullback Earll Douwrie, with more fellow players and coaches dotted around the 10 premier division teams.

The 28-year-old’s journey to Russia began when the Kings didn’t renew his contract at the end of the 2018/19 Pro14 season.

“When the Kings didn’t renew my contract, I got a two-month contract to play for the EP Elephants in the Currie Cup first division. Then an agent who was trying to sign me, Tiaan Wessels, told me that there was an offer from this side [Russia].

“I took it because it wouldn’t have helped me not to take the offer as no team had offered me anything before I came here. Had there been another team, I would have weighed up my options. But, at the moment, I’m happy with my decision because I’m being treated well here.”

Zono got to Krasny Yar last year, when they had four games left in their season – the Russian Cup final and three knockout games in the league. The Russian campaign begins in April and ends in October.

He came off the bench in the quarterfinal and did well enough then to warrant a one-year contract for this season.

A late bloomer, the attacking fly half made people sit up and take notice while playing for Border in the 2017 SuperSport Rugby Challenge, where he topped the scoring charts in the round-robin stages by scoring 83 points from six tries and featuring in the top five of the most penalties (fifth) and most conversions (fourth) lists.

A trial at Western Province ended after three weeks when the Kings offered him a Pro14 contract, but a struggle to adapt to the northern hemisphere conditions and a serious knee injury halted his progress and eventually paved his way out of the team.

When he first came on to the scene, Zono had ambitions of playing Super Rugby for a major South African franchise. Seeing him play for a one-year contract almost 16 000km away leads one to conclude that he has given up on that dream, but he reckons that’s not true.

“I haven’t given up, but I still haven’t had the opportunity of a team asking me to prove myself. My goal while I’m here is to be a regular starter in our team, because that still hasn’t been decided. But I’m not here to stay forever; my intention is to play until another opportunity arises back home.”

Zono says the standard of rugby in Russia is comparable to the Currie Cup, while the pay isn’t as bad as one might suspect.

“There isn’t that much of a difference. Say you’re getting paid R100 000 in South Africa, here, you probably get about R75 000.

“But that goes directly to you because things such as medical aid, insurance and accommodation are taken care of by the club. So it’s almost the same in a way.”

The catch is the bitter cold, which dictates that the team trains indoors pretty much throughout the preseason. Of course, the language barrier is also tough to negotiate.

Zono’s answer to the former is to stay indoors, while Google Translate is his friend for the latter on the rare occasions when he has to speak Russian at the shops. Luckily, Krasny Yar coach Josh Taumalolo, who is from Tonga, speaks English.

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