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2012–13 RFU Championship

FieldValue
name2012–13 RFU Championship
countriesEngland
Jersey
date31 August 2012 – 29 May 2013
championsNewcastle Falcons
runnersupBedford Blues
relegatedDoncaster Knights
matches138
highest attendance7,651 Newcastle Falcons at home to Bedford Blues on 29 May 2013
attendance{{#expr:
lowest attendance653 London Scottish at home to Moseley on 24 November 2012
tries{{#expr:
top point scorerNZJimmy Gopperth
(Newcastle Falcons) 298 points
top try scorerCANMatt Evans
(Cornish Pirates) 14 tries
prevseason[2011–12](2011-12-rfu-championship)
nextseason[2013–14](2013-14-rfu-championship)

Jersey

  • 1539 + 2104 + 2470 + 1364 + 894 + 4851
  • 1013 + 2066 + 1380 + 938 + 2260 + 1198
  • 4317 + 2277 + 1973 + 1364 + 2007 + 4613
  • 2298 + 1029 + 852 + 1131 + 1765 + 2854
  • 1142 + 4797 + 1187 + 2213 + 4608 + 2071
  • 2255 + 2725 + 1401 + 1091 + 1060 + 1483
  • 872 + 3518 + 2083 + 1589 + 4906 + 1971
  • 2467 + 4067 + 1894 + 1168 + 1003 + 2091
  • 908 + 1941 + 3458 + 1763 + 4720 + 1427
  • 3155 + 653 + 1489 + 2292 + 1358 + 2015
  • 4682 + 1194 + 3331 + 722 + 1411 + 1546
  • 1923 + 6045 + 3001 + 1658 + 4418 + 3058
  • 2954 + 1702 + 1498 + 1705 + 1001 + 1460
  • 4070 + 1808 + 1303 + 2136 + 706 + 2208
  • 1266 + 935 + 2242 + 1461 + 1309 + 798
  • 3030 + 1271 + 1548 + 1857 + 4504 + 1410
  • 1552 + 2933 + 1030 + 1890 + 1363 + 1370
  • 5555 + 3967 + 1517 + 1544 + 1223 + 1261
  • 2516 + 3074 + 967 + 850 + 1012 + 1552
  • 1319 + 4066 + 914 + 2032 + 2007 + 5064
  • 2649 + 3154 + 1585 + 2211 + 1037 + 1469
  • 1955 + 1020 + 2481 + 1455 + 4590 + 1463
  • 2533 + 4259 + 3070 + 6003 + 4588 + 7651
  • 6 + 7 + 3 + 5 + 3 + 6
  • 2 + 5 + 11 + 5 + 5 + 8
  • 4 + 8 + 5 + 9 + 3 + 3
  • 6 + 8 + 6 + 10 + 3 + 10
  • 4 + 5 + 7 + 2 + 8 + 7
  • 7 + 10 + 6 + 8 + 3 + 6
  • 3 + 4 + 3 + 8 + 3 + 3
  • 8 + 4 + 2 + 6 + 0 + 10
  • 6 + 4 + 4 + 10 + 7 + 6
  • 2 + 4 + 3 + 4 + 3 + 9
  • 6 + 5 + 5 + 4 + 2 + 10
  • 4 + 4 + 0 + 2 + 2 + 1
  • 6 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 7
  • 0 + 2 + 0 + 5 + 1 + 8
  • 3 + 8 + 7 + 1 + 7 + 4
  • 6 + 4 + 8 + 4 + 6 + 3
  • 9 + 2 + 2 + 7 + 6 + 7
  • 4 + 2 + 4 + 5 + 4 + 4
  • 3 + 4 + 1 + 6 + 11 + 10
  • 4 + 7 + 4 + 4 + 3 + 8
  • 7 + 3 + 8 + 4 + 5 + 8
  • 5 + 7 + 7 + 9 + 3 + 7
  • 4 + 3 + 5 + 0 + 0 + 2 (Newcastle Falcons) 298 points (Cornish Pirates) 14 tries

The 2012–13 RFU Championship is the fourth season of the professionalised format of the RFU Championship, the second tier of English domestic rugby union competitions, played between August 2012 and May 2013.

After an appeal, last season's champions, London Welsh were promoted to the Aviva Premiership and subsequently Newcastle Falcons relegated, due to finishing bottom of the Aviva Premiership during the 2011–12 season. On 8 May 2012 it was announced that only Bristol and London Welsh (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, 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 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, Jersey who won National League 1 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 along with clubs from Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

On 30 August the RFU announced that, for the first time, a team coached by Mike Rayer of Bedford Blues 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 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. 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

TeamStadiumCapacityCity/Area
Bedford BluesGoldington Road5,000 (1,700 seats)Bedford, Bedfordshire
BristolMemorial Stadium12,100Bristol
Cornish PiratesMennaye Field4,000 (2,200 Seats)Penzance, Cornwall
Doncaster KnightsCastle Park3,075Doncaster, South Yorkshire
JerseySt. Peter5,000Saint Peter, Jersey
Leeds CarnegieHeadingley Rugby Stadium20,250Leeds, West Yorkshire{{#tag:refLeeds will play a number of their matches away from Headingley Stadium as part of a "strategy to grow our business by developing a closer partnership with all clubs in Yorkshire".
London ScottishAthletic Ground, Richmond4,500 (1,000 seats)Richmond, London
MoseleyBillesley Common3,000Birmingham, West Midlands
Newcastle FalconsKingston Park10,200Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear
NottinghamMeadow Lane19,588Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
Plymouth AlbionThe Brickfields8,500Plymouth, Devon
Rotherham TitansClifton Lane2,500Rotherham, South Yorkshire

;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

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Moseley

Rotherham

Scottish

Nottingham

Bedford

Leeds

Round 8

Rotherham

Newcastle

Plymouth

Leeds

Pirates

Bristol

Round 9

Bedford

London Scottish

Nottingham

Rotherham

Jersey

Moseley

Round 10

Pirates

Moseley

Leeds

Newcastle

Bristol

Doncaster

Round 11

Scottish

Jersey

Plymouth

Rotherham

Nottingham

Bedford

Round 12

Leeds

Doncaster

Scottish

Moseley

Rotherham

Pirates

Round 13

Bristol

Newcastle

Nottingham

Bedford

Jersey

  • The original result was 34 – 16 to Leeds. However, the match went to uncontested scrums within 13 minutes on the new pitch at 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.

Round 14

Leeds

  • Game postponed to 23 February 2013 after a pitch inspection (Kingston Park pitch snow-covered).

Rotherham

Moseley

Bedford

Scottish

  • Game postponed from 25 January due to concerns about the weather.

Round 13 replay

Plymouth Albion

Round 15

Nottingham

Plymouth

Jersey

  • Game postponed to 15 March 2013 due to a water-logged pitch at Billesley Common.

Newcastle

Doncaster

Round 16

Moseley

Leeds

  • Match postponed as the pitch was deemed unplayable.

Bedford

Scottish

Rotherham

Round 14 catch up

Pirates

  • Game rescheduled from 25 January 2013.

Round 17

Jersey

Bristol

Doncaster

Falcons

Pirates

Plymouth

Round 18

Nottingham

Bedford

Rotherham

Jersey

Moseley

Scottish

Round 15 and 16 catch up

Bristol

  • Game rescheduled from 9 February 2013.

Nottingham

  • Game rescheduled from 16 February 2013.

Round 19

Newcastle

  • Postponed due to heavy overnight snowfall in Bedfordshire. Game rescheduled to 17 April.

Bristol

Plymouth

  • Postponed due to heavy snow in Birmingham. Game rescheduled to 5 April.

  • Postponed due to snowfall at Rotherham. Game rescheduled to 10 April.

Round 20

Nottingham

Jersey

Scottish

Bedford

Rotherham

Plymouth

Round 19 postponed games

Leeds

  • Postponed from 23 March due to heavy snow in Birmingham.

Pirates

  • Postponed from 23 March due to snowfall at Rotherham.

Round 21

Leeds

Doncaster

Bristol

Newcastle

Moseley

Pirates

Round 19 postponed game

Doncaster

  • Postponed from 23 March due to heavy overnight snowfall in Bedfordshire.

Round 22

Jersey

Plymouth

Nottingham

Bedford

Bristol

Scottish

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

Nottingham

Newcastle

Second leg

Bedford

  • Bedford Blues won 49 – 38 on aggregate.

Leeds

  • Newcastle Falcons won 34 – 30 on aggregate.

Final

Newcastle

Bedford

  • Newcastle Falcons won 49 – 33 on aggregate and are promoted to the Aviva Premiership.

Total attendances

ClubHome MatchesTotalAverageHighestLowest% Capacity
Bedford Blues1339,6673,0514,5881,55261%
Bristol1153,4104,8556,0454,07040%
Cornish Pirates1120,4801,8622,9541,22347%
Doncaster Knights1113,6391,2401,70287240%
Jersey1124,1522,1963,1541,41044%
Leeds Carnegie1223,6941,9754,2591,26129%
London Scottish1113,3251,2111,70565327%
Moseley1110,6789711,45572232%
Newcastle Falcons1353,7484,1347,6512,20841%
Nottingham1222,6091,8843,0701,18710%
Plymouth Albion1119,9911,8173,0581,30321%
Rotherham Titans1114,5891,3261,89093553%

Top scorers

Top points scorers

RankPlayerTeamPoints
1NZL Jimmy GopperthNewcastle Falcons298
2JPN James ArlidgeNottingham246
3ENG Joe FordLeeds Carnegie222
4ENG James LoveLondon Scottish218
5CAN James PritchardBedford Blues182
6ENG Michael Le BourgeoisJersey159
7SCO Garry LawRotherham155
8IRE Keiran HallettCornish Pirates154
9ENG Adrian JarvisBristol144
10ENG Oliver ThomasMoseley142

Top try scorers

RankPlayerTeamTries
1CAN Matt EvansCornish Pirates14
2ENG David DohertyLeeds Carnegie13
NZL Brent WilsonNottingham
4ENG Josh BassettBedford Blues11
5ENG Neil CochraneBedford Blues10
6ENG Rhys CraneNottingham8
ENG Sam HockingPlymouth Albion
SCO Ally HoggNewcastle Falcons
SCO Steve McCollLeeds Carnegie
ENG James StephensonBedford Blues

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 on Tuesday 13 November 2012 winning 24 – 13.

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 SCO Gary Law for Rotherham Titans at home to Jersey on 22 September 2012 ;Most tries in a match – 3 (x6) CAN Matt Evans for Cornish Pirates away to Jersey on 1 September 2012

SCO Ally Hogg for Newcastle Falcons away to London Scottish on 8 September 2012

ENG James Stephenson for Bedford Blues at home to London Scottish on 15 September 2012

ENG Charlie Hayter for Moseley away to Jersey on 15 September 2012

ENG Phil Burgess for Cornish Pirates at home to Rotherham Titans on 11 November 2012

ENG Johny Harris for Nottingham at home to Plymouth Albion on 3 March 2013 ;Most conversions in a match – 9 JPN James Arlidge for Nottingham at home to Bristol on 4 November 2012 ;Most penalties in a match — 7 (x3) ENG James Love for London Scottish at home to Rotherham Titans on 2 September 2012

ENG Jake Sharp for Bedford Blues away to Newcastle Falcons on 29 April 2013

NZ Jimmy Gopperth for Newcastle Falcons at home to Bedford Blues on 29 April 2013 ;Most drop goals in a match — 2 (x2) SCO Gary Law for Rotherham Titans away to Cornish Pirates on 11 November 2012

ENG 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

References

References

  1. "RFU Championship Statistics". rugbyroundup.com.
  2. "Championship Semi-Finals Statistics". rugbyroundup.com.
  3. "Championship finals Statistics". rugbyroundup.com.
  4. "RFU Championship Statistics". rugbyroundup.com.
  5. "Championship Semi-Finals Statistics". rugbyroundup.com.
  6. "Championship finals Statistics". rugbyroundup.com.
  7. "Competitions & Tournaments". Rugby Football Union.
  8. (29 June 2012). "London Welsh win Premiership promotion, Newcastle relegated". BBC Sport.
  9. (5 May 2012). "Wasps 10–14 Newcastle". BBC Sport.
  10. (8 May 2012). "Newcastle Falcons half-back Chris Pilgrim extends contract". BBC Sport.
  11. (13 May 2012). "London Welsh 17-24 Bedford Blues (agg 30-27)". BBC Sport.
  12. (13 May 2012). "Championship semi-final play-off: Bristol 29-18 Cornish Pirates". BBC Sport.
  13. Straughan, Dick. (5 July 2012). "Falcons relegated as Welsh win RFU promotion appleal". The Cornishman.
  14. (23 April 2012). "Esher RFC president says club will cope with relegation". BBC Sport.
  15. (21 April 2012). "Jersey promoted to Championship by beating Coventry". BBC Sport.
  16. Tim Pryor. (23 April 2012). "Jersey promoted: The rise and rise of an island side". BBC Sport.
  17. (4 November 2010). "Rugby Football Union to fund travel for Cup games". BBC Sport.
  18. (17 May 2012). "Championship: RFU to abolish play-off pool stages". BBC Sport.
  19. "Goldington Road". Napit.co.uk.
  20. "On The Road". Leeds Carnegie.
  21. "Leeds Carnegie announce fixture re-arrangements". Leeds Carnegie.
  22. "RFU Championship Fixtures & Results". rugby round up.
  23. (6 January 2013). "Leeds Carnegie 34 Plymouth Albion 16". Leeds Carnegie.
  24. (6 January 2013). "6th January 2013 Leeds". Plymouth Albion.
  25. (17 January 2013). "Championship Organising Committee rules on Leeds Carnegie v Plymouth Albion game". [[Rugby Football Union]].
  26. (23 January 2013). "Cornish Pirates match postponed". newcastlefalcons.co.uk.
  27. (25 January 2013). "Doncaster Knights v London Scottish postponed to next Friday". Doncaster RFC.
  28. (9 February 2013). "Billesley Common Fixture Postponed". bristolrugby.co.uk.
  29. (16 February 2013). "POSTPONED: Jersey Vs Nottingham Rugby". nottinghamrugby.co.uk.
  30. (23 January 2013). "Newcastle v Cornish Pirates Game Postponed". cornish-pirates.com.
  31. (13 February 2013). "Moseley Rearranged Fixture Date Confirmed". bristolrugby.co.uk.
  32. (21 February 2013). "Re-arranged fixture v Nottingham". jrfc.je.
  33. "Play off update". Leeds Carnegie.
  34. "Minimum Standards Criteria Audit results". Rugby Football Union.
  35. (20 April 2013). "Championship 12/13 Home attendance". Rugby Statbunker.
  36. (29 May 2013). "Championship Playoffs 12/13 Home attendance". Rugby Statbunker.
  37. (26 September 2012). "Cornish Pirates boss Ian Davies to coach Championship XV". BBC.
  38. (14 November 2012). "FALCONS 24 TONGA 13". The Journal.
  39. (20 April 2013). "Championship 12/13 Most tries in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker.
  40. (29 May 2013). "Championship Playoffs 12/13 Most tries in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker.
  41. (20 April 2013). "Championship 12/13 Most conversions in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker.
  42. (29 May 2013). "Championship Playoffs 12/13 Most conversions in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker.
  43. (20 April 2013). "Championship 12/13 Most penalties in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker.
  44. (29 May 2013). "Championship Playoffs 12/13 Most penalties in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker.
  45. (20 April 2013). "Championship 12/13 Most drop goals in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker.
  46. (29 May 2013). "Championship Playoffs 12/13 Most drop goals in a match (Team)". Rugby Statbunker.
  47. (20 April 2013). "Championship 12/13 Most points in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker.
  48. (29 May 2013). "Championship Playoffs 12/13 Most points in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker.
  49. (20 April 2013). "Championship 12/13 Most tries in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker.
  50. (29 May 2013). "Championship Playoffs 12/13 Most tries in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker.
  51. (20 April 2013). "Championship 12/13 Most conversions in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker.
  52. (29 May 2013). "Championship Playoffs 12/13 Most conversions in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker.
  53. (20 April 2013). "Championship 12/13 Most penalties in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker.
  54. (29 May 2013). "Championship Playoffs 12/13 Most penalties in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker.
  55. (20 April 2013). "Championship 12/13 Most drop goals in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker.
  56. (29 May 2013). "Championship Playoffs 12/13 Most drop goals in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker.
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