London Wasps are delighted to announce the signing of former Leeds Carnegie captain Marco Wentzel with the imposing lock becoming the tenth senior squad signing at the club for next season.
The experienced second-row comes to Wasps having established himself as a top Premiership performer across four seasons – two with Leeds and two with Leicester.
Having been named in the Opta Team of the Season last year following an outstanding effort in the Leeds second-row in the Premiership, Wentzel has this year once again been a pivotal player in the league, making a major impact in both the set-piece and around the pitch.
The capped Springbok, who won Test caps with South Africa against Scotland and France in 2002 before moving to Italy to join Benetton Treviso, has also played Currie Cup rugby with Free State Cheetahs and gained Super 12 experience with the Blue Bulls and the Cats.
Wenztel said: “It was a hard decision for me to leave Leeds but I believe it is the best decision for me and the future of the club. I really enjoyed my time there and made some great friends. I must thank all my teammates and the fans for their amazing support the past two years.
“On the other hand I am really looking forward to join a club with a proud history like Wasps and believe I can play a part to get them back where they belong on the top of English and European rugby. I think it is an exciting time for the club with a squad which has a mixture of great young talent and experienced players and I can’t wait to start the new season.”
London Wasps Chief Executive Chris Thomas said: “Marco will be a fantastic addition to our pack for next season. We think it’s really important that we have a balance between young talent and experienced senior players and he definitely fits the bill for the second part of that equation. He has much admired leadership qualities and we know that he is considered a fantastic professional in how he carries himself on and off the pitch.”
Wentzel joins a number of new faces at London Wasps next season with senior squad arrivals announced so far including, Jeremy Castex (Narbonne), Steve Thompson (Leeds), Ross Filipo ( Bayonne), Nicky Robinson (Gloucester), Ryan Davies (Exeter), Chris Bell (Sale), Chris Mayor (Gran Parma), Jonathan Poff (Crusaders) and Simon McIntyre (Sale). Wasps have also added to their Academy with the arrival of young prop Lewis Thiede from Doncaster.