The 2012–13 RFU Championship is the fourth season of the professionalised format of the
RFU Championship
The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men's English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when Eng ...
,
the second tier of English domestic
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
competitions, played between August 2012 and May 2013.
After an appeal, last season's champions, London Welsh were promoted to 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, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby u ...
and subsequently
Newcastle Falcons
Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union.
The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...
relegated, due to finishing bottom of 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, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby u ...
during the 2011–12 season.
On 8 May 2012 it was announced that only
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
and
London Welsh
London Welsh Rugby Football Club () was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, after gaining promotion from ...
(subject to further developments) were eligible for promotion under the RFU's minimum standards criteria; London Welsh advanced to the Championship final, whilst Bristol were defeated in their semi-final by the
Cornish Pirates
The Cornish Pirates () are a professional rugby union team who play in the RFU Championship, Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. The Cornish Pirates team are the 'First XV' o ...
, a club that could not meet the standards criteria. However, on 23 May, the day of the first leg of the final, the RFU announced that London Welsh would not be eligible for promotion due to "''various failures''". London Welsh's appeal was heard by an Independent Panel on 29 June which ruled ″... ''that the Exiles should be promoted on the basis that they play their home games at Oxford's Kassam Stadium and that the club meet the minimum entry criteria to the league as imposed by the Professional Game Board''.″ Chief Executive Officer of the RFU, Ian Richie, subsequently announced that there would be a full review of the Minimum Standard Criteria.
Esher
Esher ( ) is a town in the borough of Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole, Surrey, River Mole.
Esher is an outlying suburb of London, close to the London–Surrey border; with Esher Commons at its ...
dropped out of the Championship after being relegated to the
2013–14 National League 1 and they will be replaced by a club from the
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
,
Jersey
Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
who won
National League 1
National One, up until 2023 known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Lea ...
last season and will compete in the Championship for the first time after three consecutive promotions.
The twelve clubs in the 2012–13 Championship will also participate in the
2012–13 edition of the
British and Irish Cup
The British and Irish Cup was an annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs and the reserves or developing teams from professional clubs from Great Britain and Ireland. It took place for the first time in the 2009� ...
along with clubs from
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
,
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
and
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
.
On 30 August the RFU announced that, for the first time, a team coached by
Mike Rayer of
Bedford Blues
Bedford Blues are a semi-professional rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in the RFU Championship.
History
Foundation and 19th century
Bedford RUFC was founded in 1886 after an amalgamation between Bedford Rove ...
and consisting of English Qualified Players from RFU Championship teams will play a touring team. The match took place on 17 November at Castle Park, Doncaster against the
Māori All Blacks
The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Maori, New Zealand Maoris and New Zealand Natives, are a rugby union team from New Zealand. They are a representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and a prerequisite for playing is ...
with the New Zealand team winning 52 – 21.
Structure
The Championship's structure has all the teams playing each other on a home and away basis. The play–off structure has been changed dramatically for the 2012–13 season. Previously, the top eight teams entered into a complex mixture of pool and knockout play to determine promotion to the Premiership, whilst the bottom four entered into a pool whose last–placed team was relegated to
National League 1
National One, up until 2023 known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Lea ...
.
The play–off pools have been abolished beginning with this season. On the promotion side, the knockout stage, involving two–legged semi–finals followed by a two–legged final, will remain in place. Now, the top four teams at the end of the home–and–away season qualify for the promotion play–offs which follow a 1 v 4, 2 v 3 system. There will be no relegation play–offs; the bottom team will now be automatically relegated.
Competition funding
The RFU Championship clubs were in dispute with the RFU over funding for the competition and claimed that each club was owed £77,000 for the past three seasons and will be owed a further £120,000 over the next four seasons. The clubs also believed they should have received £295,000 in 2009–10, rising to £400,000 by 2015–16 and further believed there was a breach of contract on the part of the RFU. The RFU stated that the original funding was an estimate and by 2015–16 the figure will be £359,400.
On 21 August the RFU unveiled the Championship funding structure for the next four seasons to 2015–16. The funding is based on the continuation of the "English Qualified Players scheme", where clubs are required to field fifteen English qualified players in the 22-man squad on each matchday. (In previous seasons teams were required to field fourteen.) Although the amount is not given in the press release, the RFU also stated they will "increase its financial underwritings in relation to a title sponsorship while efforts continue to secure a partner".
Participating teams
;Notes
League table
Regular season
The 2012–13 RFU Championship kicked off on 31 August with Nottingham defeating Leeds Carnegie and will finish on 20 April 2013. Each team will play the other twice on a home and away basis with the top four qualifying for the promotion phase.
Round 1
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Round 2
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Round 3
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Round 4
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Round 5
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Round 6
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Round 7
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Round 8
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Round 9
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Round 10
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Round 11
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Round 12
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Round 13
* The original result was 34 – 16 to Leeds. However, the match went to uncontested scrums within 13 minutes on the new pitch at
Headingley
Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...
. A meeting of the Organising Committee of the Championship decided that the fixture should be replayed on the next available free weekend, being 1–3 February at a venue of Leeds' choice.
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Round 14
* Game postponed to 23 February 2013 after a pitch inspection (Kingston Park pitch snow-covered).
* Game postponed from 25 January due to concerns about the weather.
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Round 13 replay
Round 15
* Game postponed to 15 March 2013 due to a water-logged pitch at Billesley Common.
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Round 16
* Match postponed as the pitch was deemed unplayable.
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Round 14 catch up
* Game rescheduled from 25 January 2013.
Round 17
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Round 18
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Round 15 and 16 catch up
* Game rescheduled from 9 February 2013.
* Game rescheduled from 16 February 2013.
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Round 19
*Postponed due to heavy overnight snowfall in Bedfordshire. Game rescheduled to 17 April.
*Postponed due to heavy snow in Birmingham. Game rescheduled to 5 April.
*Postponed due to snowfall at Rotherham. Game rescheduled to 10 April.
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Round 20
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Round 19 postponed games
*Postponed from 23 March due to heavy snow in Birmingham.
*Postponed from 23 March due to snowfall at Rotherham.
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Round 21
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Round 19 postponed game
*Postponed from 23 March due to heavy overnight snowfall in Bedfordshire.
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Round 22
Play–offs
Semi–finals
The semi–finals followed a 1 v 4, 2 v 3 system - with the games being played over two legs and the higher placed team deciding who played at home in the first leg.
Newcastle Falcons finished the regular season in first place and played fourth-placed finishers Leeds Carnegie, with both matches being shown on SkySports. The other semi–final was between second placed Nottingham and Bedford who finished third.
Following the findings of an independent audit report, Leeds Carnegie, Newcastle Falcons and Nottingham Rugby met the "Minimum Standards Criteria" (MSC), and were eligible for promotion to the
2013–14 Aviva Premiership should they win the RFU Championship. Bedford Blues failed to meet the MSC but have the right to an appeal.
First leg
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Second leg
* Bedford Blues won 49 – 38 on aggregate.
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* Newcastle Falcons won 34 – 30 on aggregate.
Final
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* Newcastle Falcons won 49 – 33 on aggregate and are promoted to the Aviva Premiership.
Total attendances
Top scorers
Top points scorers
Top try scorers
RFU Championship XV
The RFU Championship fielded a representative team for the first time against the
Maori All Blacks, a touring team from New Zealand.
* See the main article
RFU Championship XV for further details.
Other tour match
Newcastle Falcons played a match against
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
on Tuesday 13 November 2012 winning 24 – 13.
* See
2012 end-of-year rugby union tests
The 2012 autumn internationals, also known as the autumn tests, November tests and, in the Southern Hemisphere, the end of year tests, were international rugby union matches. They were predominantly played between visiting Southern Hemisphere coun ...
for details.
Season records
Team
;Largest home win – 56 pts
63 – 7 Nottingham at home to Bristol on 4 November 2012
;Largest away win – 40 pts
53 - 13 Newcastle Falcons away to Moseley on 6 October 2012
;Most points scored – 63 pts
63 – 7 Nottingham at home to Bristol on 4 November 2012
;Most tries in a match – 9
Nottingham at home to Bristol on 4 November 2012
;Most conversions in a match – 9
Nottingham at home to Bristol on 4 November 2012
;Most penalties in a match – 7 (x3)
London Scottish at home to Rotherham Titans on 2 September 2012
Bedford Blues away to Newcastle Falcons on 29 April 2013
Newcastle Falcons at home to Bedford Blues on 29 April 2013
;Most drop goals in a match – 2 (x2)
Rotherham Titans away to Cornish Pirates on 11 November 2012
Bedford Blues away to Newcastle Falcons on 8 March 2013
Player
;Most points in a match – 29
Gary Law for Rotherham Titans at home to Jersey on 22 September 2012
;Most tries in a match – 3 (x6)
Matt Evans for Cornish Pirates away to Jersey on 1 September 2012
Ally Hogg for Newcastle Falcons away to London Scottish on 8 September 2012
James Stephenson for Bedford Blues at home to London Scottish on 15 September 2012
Charlie Hayter for Moseley away to Jersey on 15 September 2012
Phil Burgess for Cornish Pirates at home to Rotherham Titans on 11 November 2012
Johny Harris for Nottingham at home to Plymouth Albion on 3 March 2013
;Most conversions in a match – 9
James Arlidge for Nottingham at home to Bristol on 4 November 2012
;Most penalties in a match — 7 (x3)
James Love for London Scottish at home to Rotherham Titans on 2 September 2012
Jake Sharp for Bedford Blues away to Newcastle Falcons on 29 April 2013
Jimmy Gopperth for Newcastle Falcons at home to Bedford Blues on 29 April 2013
;Most drop goals in a match — 2 (x2)
Gary Law for Rotherham Titans away to Cornish Pirates on 11 November 2012
Mark Atkinson for Bedford Blues away to Newcastle Falcons on 8 March 2013
Attendances
;Highest – 7,651
Newcastle Falcons at home to Bedford Blues on 29 May 2013
;Lowest – 653
London Scottish at home to Moseley on 24 November 2012
;Highest Average Attendance – 4,855
Bristol
;Lowest Average Attendance – 971
Moseley
See also
*
2012–13 British and Irish Cup
The 2012–13 British and Irish Cup was the fourth season of the annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs from Britain and Ireland. The final was contest on 17 May 2013 and won by Leinster A with a 78th minute Penalt ...
*
2012–13 Cornish Pirates RFC season
References
External links
RFU Championship news
{{DEFAULTSORT:Championship
2012–13 in English rugby union leagues
2012-13