Marco Wentzel

Marco Wentzel
Full name	Marco Van Zyl Wentzel
Date of birth	6 May 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth	George, South Africa
Height	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
Weight	117 kg (18 st 6 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s)
Position(s)	Lock
Youth career
1996–1997	Template:Rut SWD Eagles
Senior career
Years	Team
1998–1999	Template:Rut SWD Eagles
2000–2002	Template:Rut Pumas
2001–2002	Template:Rut Bulls
2003	Template:Rut Cats
2003–2005	Template:Rut Free State Cheetahs
2005–2006	Treviso
2006	Template:Rut Boland Cavaliers
2006–2007	Treviso
2007–2009	Leicester Tigers
2009–2011	Leeds Carnegie
2011–2013	London Wasps
2013–2015	Template:Rut Sharks (Currie Cup)
2015	Template:Rut Sharks
	Correct as of 12 October 2015
International career
Years	Team
2002	South Africa
2009	Southern Kings
	Correct as of 8 May 2015

Marco Van Zyl Wentzel (born 6 May 1979 in George, Western Cape, South Africa) is a rugby union player. He plays as a lock or in the back-row^{[citation needed]}.

He attended Outeniqua High School in George and played for their first team from 1995 to 1997; he was also captain in 1997. In 1996 and 1997, he played Craven Week for South Western Districts. In 1997, he also played for Template:Rut SWD U21. After finishing school, he signed a contract with the Template:Rut SWD Eagles, where Heyneke Meyer was the coach. He made his Currie Cup debut that year for SWD against North-West province. In 2000, he signed for the Template:Rut Pumas on a three-year deal. In 2001 and 2002, he also played for the Template:Rut Bulls in Super 12.

In 2001, he played for a South Africa Under-23 side which won the Africa Cup and in 2002 he became a Springbok. He made his debut against France alongside Bakkies Botha and Jean de Villiers. He joined the Template:Rut Free State Cheetahs and played for them from 2003 until 2005; he also played Super Rugby with the Template:Rut Cats in 2003.

In 2004, he signed with the Italian outfit Treviso where he played for 3 years, coming back in between for stints with the Template:Rut Free State Cheetahs in 2005 (winning the Currie Cup with them) and the Template:Rut Boland Cavaliers, which won Currie Cup First Division.

While at Treviso, they won the Copa Italia in 2004 and the Italian Super 10 in 2005 and 2006. He moved to England to represent Leicester Tigers and Leeds Carnegie in the Aviva Premiership, before plying his trade with London Wasps and joining teammate Steve Thompson at the Wycombe-based club in 2011.^[1]

Leaving Wasps after the 2012–13 Premiership season,^[2] he returned to South Africa and signed a two-year contract to play for the Template:Rut Sharks (Currie Cup) domestically and for the Template:Rut Sharks in Super Rugby.^[3]

He was released by the Sharks in November 2015.^[4]

References

^ "Leeds skipper Marco Wentzel signs for Wasps". BBC. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
^ "London Wasps lock Marco Wentzel returns to South Africa". BBC. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
^ "Ebersohn op pad na Frankryk; Wentzel word Haai". Die Burger (in Afrikaans). Media24. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
^ "Training squad announcement" (Press release). Sharks. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.

External links

Leicester Tigers profile

[Leeds_skipper_Marco_Wentzel_signs_for_Wasps-1] "Leeds skipper Marco Wentzel signs for Wasps". BBC. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2015.

[London_Wasps_lock_Marco_Wentzel_returns_to_South_Africa-2] "London Wasps lock Marco Wentzel returns to South Africa". BBC. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.

[Ebersohn_op_pad_na_Frankryk;_Wentzel_word_Haai-3] "Ebersohn op pad na Frankryk; Wentzel word Haai". Die Burger (in Afrikaans). Media24. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.

[Training_squad_announcement-4] "Training squad announcement" (Press release). Sharks. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.

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