Captain Marco Wentzel to remain at Leeds Carnegie

Wentzel joined Leeds from Leicester

Leeds Carnegie captain Marco Wentzel says he will stay at the club even if they fail to remain in the Premiership.

Leeds can secure their Premiership status if they avoid defeat at home to Worcester on Sunday but the South African lock will stay on regardless.

"It wasn't a big decision for me as I am very committed to this rugby club," the South African second row told BBC Radio Leeds.

"We have to believe we can stay up and we are confident we can do.

Wentzel added: "I came here to keep this club up so if we go down it's slightly my fault, but if we go down we'd have to deal with that and then look ahead.

"If we can stay up we can build on the squad we have and really push on. We get an extra million pounds for next season if we stay up and that can buy you a few players. So it is vital we stay in this league.

"If we went down we'd lose some players and have to rebuild again and that can be hard. If we stay up we can keep our squad together, which means making progress is much easier."

Wentzel moved from Premiership champions Leicester Tigers to Leeds in the summer and was named captain for the West Yorkshire's top-flight return.

An inspiration for Leeds throughout the season, Wentzel is the leading line-out ball stealer in the Premiership with 18 steals.

Director of rugby Andy Key added: "He has had such a big influential and impact on the side both on and off the field.

"For us going forward and for players that are still deciding whether to sign contracts with us his commitment, along with Hendre Fourie's and Scott Barrow's, shows how this club is moving forward.

"It shows what passion and determination there is here to bring in the right type of players here and Marco committing to us will help us bring in even better players in the future."