Marco Van Zyl Wentzel (born 6 May 1979 in

George, Western Cape George is the second largest city in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The city is a popular holiday and conference centre, as well as the administrative and commercial hub and the seat of the Garden Route District Municipality. It is na ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

) is a

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. He plays as a lock or in the back-row. 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 . After finishing school, he signed a contract with the , where

Heyneke Meyer Heyneke Meyer (born 6 October 1967) is a professional rugby union coach, best known for coaching the Springboks from 2012 until 2015. Prior to coaching the Springboks, he spent many years at the domestic level in South Africa before coaching Lei ...

was the coach. He made his

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 ...

debut that year for SWD against North-West province. In 2000, he signed for the on a three-year deal. In 2001 and 2002, he also played for the in

Super 12 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 ...

. In 2001, he played for a South Africa Under-23 side which won the

Africa Cup The Rugby Africa Cup is a two-year men's rugby union tournament involving the top 16 African nations based on their World Rugby rankings, it is organised by Rugby Africa. The tournament was first held in 2000. It was renamed the Rugby Africa Cup i ...

and in 2002 he became a Springbok. He made his debut against alongside

Bakkies Botha John Philip "Bakkies" Botha, (born 22 September 1979) is a South African former professional rugby union player who played as a lock for the Springboks until 2014. He was a member of the national team that won the 2007 Rugby World Cup in Franc ...

and Jean de Villiers. He joined the and played for them from 2003 until 2005; he also played

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 ...

with the in 2003. In 2004, he signed with the Italian outfit

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

where he played for 3 years, coming back in between for stints with the in 2005 (winning the Currie Cup with them) and the , 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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to represent

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

and

Leeds Carnegie Leeds Carnegie was a brand name used by several sports teams associated with the Carnegie School of Physical Education, now part of Leeds Beckett University. These include: Current * Leeds Carnegie Handball Club Changed name * Leeds Carnegie (ba ...

in the

Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

, before plying his trade with

London Wasps Wasps Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022 the club entered administration, resulting in r ...

and joining teammate Steve Thompson at the Wycombe-based club in 2011. Leaving Wasps after the 2012–13 Premiership season, he returned to South Africa and signed a two-year contract to play for the domestically and for the in

. He was released by the Sharks in November 2015.

References

External links

Leicester Tigers profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wentzel, Marco 1979 births Living people Leicester Tigers players Wasps RFC players Rugby union locks South Africa international rugby union players Pumas (Currie Cup) players Bulls (rugby union) players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Free State Cheetahs players Sharks (rugby union) players Sharks (Currie Cup) players Rugby union players from George, South Africa Leeds Tykes players Benetton Rugby players South African expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in Italy South African expatriate sportspeople in England South African expatriate sportspeople in Italy