CORNWALL RLFC have made the permanent signing of loose forward David Weetman for the remainder of the 2023 Betfred League One campaign, writes Gareth Davies.

Weetman, 24, has most recently been playing in France with St Gaudens Bears. The French Elite League competition runs opposite to the English domestic season, thus enabling Weetman to make a playing return on these shores.

Hailing from Newcastle, Weetman’s rugby league journey began at the Cramlington Rockets junior club. He then joined Newcastle Thunder’s academy and made a handful of senior appearances for the Kingston Park outfit, before the covid-19 pandemic.

Owing to the disrupted 2020 season in England, Weetman first moved to France to play for the Bears in 2020-21. 

After a successful first spell across the English Channel, Weetman then linked up with Workington Town, who at the time were playing in League One and chasing promotion to the Championship.

Shortly after arriving in Cumbria, Weetman suffered a horror ankle injury in a match against London Skolars, but he made a full recovery and remained with Town for their Championship campaign last year.

Weetman played 14 times in the second tier for the Derwent Park outfit and he also spent a short spell on loan to Cornwall’s divisional rivals Midlands Hurricanes, before moving to St Gaudens once more.

Once the French season was over, Cornwall moved quickly to secure his services, despite interest from several other League One outfits.

“This is a great opportunity for me personally to join a project that is on the up,” Weetman told cornwallrlfc.co.uk.  

“I’ve been playing in France, but have been back (in England) for a few weeks now. It’s now all about getting back into the swing of things in a new environment and hopefully I can hit the ground running.”

Meanwhile, Cornwall head coach Mike Abbott feels that Weetman is the ideal fit for Cornwall and an indication of the direction the club are heading in.

“(David) is exactly what we want at the club,” Abbott enthused. “He understands what we are trying to do, what the lifestyle down here is like and he really bought into that.

“He ran well at his first training session and I’m really excited to see what he can do. Overall, I think his signing shows where we are going as a club.”