2012 RFL Championship

The 2012 Rugby Football League Championship, also known as Co-operative Championship due to sponsorship by The Co-operative Group, was a semi-professional rugby league football competition played in the UK, one tier below the first tier Super League. The two worst performing teams during the season usually are relegated to Championship 1, however for the 2012 season, no relegation took place, due to the expansion of the Championship to 14 teams in 2013.[2] The winners of the division is decided by a play-off system involving the top 6 teams at the end of the regular season with two teams eventually progressing to the Grand Final. The final was won by Sheffield Eagles, who beat Featherstone Rovers 20–16 at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.[3]

Co-operative Championship 2012
LeagueCo-operative Championship
Duration18 Rounds (Followed by 4 round playoffs)
Teams10
Highest attendance2,816 Featherstone Rovers v Keighley Cougars (2 September 2012)[1]
Lowest attendance408 Hunslet Hawks v Leigh Centurions (5 August 2012)[1]
Broadcast partnersPremier Sports
2012 Season
Grand Final winners Sheffield Eagles
League leaders Featherstone Rovers
Runners-up Leigh Centurions
Top point-scorer(s) Liam Finn (247)[1]
Top try-scorer(s) Andy Kain (22)[1]

There was no automatic promotion from this league to Super League, which uses a licensing system renewed every three years. Qualifying for the Grand Final or winning the Northern Rail Cup is a prerequisite for Championship clubs to be able to apply for a licence in the next round of applications for the 2015–17 seasons.

All of the teams in the 2012 Co-operative Championship also competed in the 2012 Challenge Cup, where they entered in the third round. All of the teams also competed in the 2012 National League Cup which started before the Co-operative Championship with the finals held mid season.

Teams

This year's competition featured mostly the same teams as it did in 2011. The Swinton Lions and Keighley Cougars were promoted from the 2011 Championship 1, Widnes Vikings were promoted into Super League after winning a licence for 2012-14 seasons, while Barrow Raiders were relegated. Toulouse Olympique, who finished second bottom the previous season, decided to withdraw from the competition and return to the French Elite One Championship league. The changes means that 10 teams competed in the 2012 season. This will increase to 14 in the 2013 season, which meant no relegation from the Championship for the 2012 season.[2]

Legend
  Reigning champions
  Defending Northern Rail Cup Champions
  Promoted
Team & Current Season Stadium Capacity Location
Batley Bulldogs Mount Pleasant 6,000 Batley, West Yorkshire
Dewsbury Rams Tetley's Stadium 3,500 Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
Featherstone Rovers Bigfellas Stadium 6,750 Featherstone, West Yorkshire
Halifax The Shay Stadium 6,561 Halifax, West Yorkshire
Hunslet Hawks South Leeds Stadium 4,000 Leeds, West Yorkshire
Keighley Cougars Cougar Park 7,800 Keighley, West Yorkshire
Leigh Centurions Leigh Sports Village 12,700 Leigh, Greater Manchester
Sheffield Eagles Bramall Lane 32,702 Sheffield, South Yorkshire
Swinton Lions Leigh Sports Village 12,700 Leigh, Greater Manchester
York City Knights Huntington Stadium 3,428 York, North Yorkshire

Season Standings
2012 RFL Championship
# Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Bns Pts
1 Featherstone Rovers 181512684354+330047
2 Leigh Centurions 181404612310+302244
3 Halifax 181404597377+220244
4 Sheffield Eagles 181215565437+128341
5 Batley Bulldogs 181107551326+225740
6 Keighley Cougars 18819395368+27531
7 Dewsbury Rams 187011371518-147425
8 Swinton Lions 184113366632−266519
9 Hunslet Hawks 182016248684-436410
10 York City Knights 181017272645-37347
  Teams qualifying for the Play-offs

This table is correct as of 2 September 2012. Source: cooperativechampionship.co.uk and BBC Sport.

Classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference.
Competition points: For win = 3; For draw = 2; For loss by 12 points or fewer = 1.

Season Results
Main article: 2012 RFL Championship season results

The regular league season sees the 10 teams play each other twice (one home, one away) over 18 matches. The top six teams at the end of the regular season goes through to the play-offs to determine the winners of the Championship.

Play Offs

The Co-operative Championship uses a top 6 play-off system.

Round 1

Sheffield Eagles 42-12 Batley Bulldogs

Halifax 28-24 Keighley Cougars

Round 2

Halifax 12-54 Sheffield Eagles

Featherstone Rovers 32-14 Leigh

Semi Final

Leigh 22-32 Sheffield Eagles

Final

Featherstone Rovers 16-20 Sheffield Eagles

See also

References
  1. "Stats Centre". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  2. "Relegation is scrapped from Championship this campaign". Keighley News. 16 February 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  3. "Featherstone Rovers 16-20 Sheffield Eagles". BBC Sport. 30 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
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