The 2012–13 Pro12 League (also known as the ''RaboDirect Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 12th season of the

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 it ...

competition originally known as the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...

, the third with its current 12-team format, and the second with

RaboDirect Rabobank (; full name: ''Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A.'') is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands. The group comprises 89 local Dutch Rabobanks (2019), a central organisation (Raboba ...

as title sponsor. Ospreys were the defending champions, but they failed to qualify for the end-of-season playoffs. The twelve teams that competed were the four Irish teams, Munster,

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Del ...

and

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

; two Scottish teams,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

and

Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...

; four Welsh teams, Cardiff Blues, Newport Gwent Dragons, Ospreys and

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

; and two Italian teams, Benetton Treviso and newly created

Zebre Zebre Parma (, meaning "Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by the ...

. The title was won by

, defeating

24–18 in the final.

Changes for the season

Italy

replaced Aironi Rugby after they had their licence revoked by the

Italian Rugby Federation The Italian Rugby Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Rugby) or FIR is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Italy. The FIR has one seat on the 28-member World Rugby Council, the governing body of World Rugby. (All other members of ...

for financial reasons. Roberto Manghi will become their Head coach for their début season.

Scotland

Ahead of this season

moved home, leaving their previous home of Firhill in the

Maryhill Maryhill ( gd, Cnoc Màiri) is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road. The far north west of the area is served by Maryhill railway station. History Hew Hill, ...

area of the city for the smaller

Scotstoun Stadium Scotstoun Stadium is an athletics and rugby union stadium in Scotstoun, an area in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland. Glasgow Warriors have trained at the facility since 2009 and have played their home games here from the 2012–13 season ...

. They also came into the season with a new head coach, with former

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

stand-off

Gregor Townsend Gregor Peter John Townsend, (born 26 April 1973) is a Scottish rugby union coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Scotland national team having previously been an assistant coach from 2009 to 2012. As a player, he won ...

replacing Sean Lineen.

Ireland

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

er Rob Penney replaced Tony McGahan as director of rugby at Munster, and fellow New Zealander Mark Anscombe replaced Brian McLaughlin as head coach of

. In Munster,

Paul O'Connell Paul Jeremiah O'Connell (born 20 October 1979) is an Irish former rugby union player and coach. When he stopped playing, he was Ireland's third most-capped player (108) and the eighteenth most-capped international player in rugby union histo ...

stood down as captain, with

Doug Howlett Douglas Charles Howlett (born 21 September 1978) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player. He was primarily a wing, but he also sometimes played as a fullback. He played for Auckland, and the Highlanders, Hurricanes and Blues ...

announced as his replacement.

Wales

The Welsh regions saw a number of changes in coaching personnel, as Phil Davies took over the reins at Cardiff Blues, Steve Tandy replaced Sean Holley as Ospreys head coach and former

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

international

Simon Easterby Simon Easterby (born 21 July 1975 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire) is an Irish former rugby union player. He is currently the defence coach for the Irish national team. Early life Easterby's father is English and his mother Irish. He is the you ...

succeeding Nigel Davies at the

, after he departed to take over at

English Premiership The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

. Scarlets also announced that Rob McCusker would replace

Matthew Rees Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the ...

as captain. On 28 August 2012, the Welsh Rugby Union announced a new annual event which will feature all four regions playing in a doubleheader at Millennium Stadium (similar to the long-established

London Double Header The London Double Header ran between 2004 and 2017 and typically opened the season of Premiership Rugby (currently known as the Gallagher Premiership due to sponsorship), the top rugby union league in England. Two games were played consecutively a ...

in the

). The first of these events took place on 30 March 2013, with an initial contract set to run for four years.

Teams

Table

Fixtures

All times are local.

Round 1

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Round 2

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Round 3

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Round 4

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Round 5

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Round 6

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Round 7

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Round 8

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Round 4 rescheduled match

This match – originally scheduled to be held during Round 4, on 21 September 2012 – was postponed due to the death of Ulster player Nevin Spence in a farming accident on 15 September.

Round 9

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Round 10

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Round 11

---- ---- ----

1872 Cup 1st round

Welsh Round

----

Round 12

---- ---- ----

1872 Cup 2nd round

Round 13

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Round 14

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Round 15

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Round 16

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Round 17

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Round 18

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Round 19

---- ---- ----

Judgement Day

----

Round 20

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Round 21

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Round 19 rescheduled match

This match – originally scheduled to be held during Round 19, on 30 March 2013 – was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

Round 22

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Play-offs

Semi-finals

The semi-finals were played on the weekend of 10/11 May 2013; these followed a 1 v 4, 2 v 3 system with the games being played at the home ground of the higher placed teams. ----

Final

The final was contested on Saturday, 25 May 2013, between the winners of the two semi-finals.

Leading scorers

Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under IRB eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-IRB nationalities.

Top points scorers

Top try scorers

End-of-season awards

2012/2013 Dream Team

Notes

References

External links

*
2012–13 Pro12 at ESPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pro12

2012-13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

2012–13 in Irish rugby union 2012–13 in Welsh rugby union 2012–13 in Scottish rugby union 2012–13 in Italian rugby union