Welwitschias centre Johann Tromp gave a brilliant performance last Saturday when he scored three tries to help the Welwitschias record their first victory in the Vodacom Cup as they beat the Limpopo Blue Bulls 24-17.
Tromp won the man of the match award but he played down his own achievement, saying that the team’s victory was the most important.
“It was a great feeling to score the first try and then the second try was more of a luck shot because their defending was a bit sloppy. But it wasn’t important to me that I scored the tries, it was just important that we won the match,” he said.
Tromp has developed into one of Namibia’s most outstanding players over the past few years, since he made his senior debut against Zimbabwe in 2012. With his tremendous speed off the mark and sudden sidestep he has become one of the Welwitschias’ main attacking threats while the powerfully built Tromp is also very solid on defence.
Tromp grew up in Windhoek, going to Pionierspark Primary and HTS and Windhoek Gymnasium in high school and from a young age rugby was part of his life. His father Adriaan Tromp was an avid player, playing three matches for South West Africa before independence, and Johann played the game since he can remember.
At first he didn’t shine much as a player but he made his mark at high school and in Grade 11 was called up to the Namibian U19 team that won the Africa Cup in Tunisia. In his matric year he also represented Namibia at the World Rugby Junior Trophy in Kenya, where Namibia finished fifth out of eight countries.
After school he went to study at Pretoria University and played for Tukkies, where he helped them reach the Carlton Cup final which they lost against Police in 2012.
He returned to Namibia towards the end of 2012 and was immediately called up to the national squad for a Tri-Nations tournament against Zimbabwe and Spain.
Tromp made his debut against Zimbabwe and had a great game, scoring a try and helping create another as Namibia won a close match 37-33. Since then Tromp has been a regular member of the squad and also helped the team qualify for the World Cup in Madagascar last year.
In 2013, Tromp joined Western Suburbs rugby club, becoming only the third white player over the past decade to play for the Khomasdal-based side and their coach Walter Donn said he made a great impact.
“He asked me if he could join Suburbs because he liked our back line flair and wanted to get more flair into his game. He was very well accepted by our squad, the players looked up to him and he fitted in well with our culture,” he said.
For Tromp though, there were also financial considerations, as he was working in Otjiwarongo at the time, and Suburbs agreed to pay his travelling expenses.
“Suburbs was a good club and they were the only club that offered to pay my petrol expenses and that was the most important for me. It was a very nice year, a lot of their players were also in the Namibian squad so we had a strong team and we had a great team spirit,” he said.
Suburbs won the Premier League title that year after beating Rehoboth 34-21 in the final and Tromp was one of their star players, winning the back line player of the year award.
Last year he joined Wanderers after they also offered him a job and he was once again a standout player, helping them reach the final where they lost 20-18 to United.
This year he has represented the Welwitschias in all their Vodacom Cup matches and said it was a great feeling to finally win their first match last Saturday.
“The whole week leading up to the game we already had a feeling that we will win this match. We knew they were also not professional, their players are also working daily, so it was nice experience to win and a great team effort,” he said.
One on One with Johann Tromp
When and where were you born?
Windhoek on 23 December 1990.
Schools attended:
Pionierspark Primary School, HTS and Windhoek Gymnasium.
Who inspired you?
My inspiration has always come from God but Brian O Driscoll of Ireland has been my biggest inspiration in rugby. He was a brilliant player and gave everything he had on the field.
Favourite team?
My favourite team is the Wellington Hurricanes in the Super 15.
No not at all, I’ll stay with my country.
Favourite food and drink?
I like a pizza and my favourite drink is a brandy and lemonade and then I like to drink juice and tea, Fuse Tea or Ice Tea.
