2012–13 Premiership Rugby

Summary

Leicester Tigers won their tenth title after defeating Northampton Saints in the final at Twickenham, having finished second in the regular season table. London Welsh were relegated, in part, for having received a 5-point deduction for fielding a player who did not hold an Effective Registration. It was the first time that London Welsh had been relegated from the top flight since they first achieved promotion.

As usual, round 1 included the London Double Header at Twickenham, the ninth instance since its inception in 2004.

Rule changes

For the second consecutive season, significant changes were made to the Premiership's salary cap. Last season, "academy credits" were introduced, giving each team a £30,000 cap credit for each of up to eight home-grown players in the senior squad. This season, the team cap rose for the first time since the 2008–09 season when it was increased from £2.2 million to £4 million. The new cap is £4.26 million before academy credits and up to £4.5 million with credits. In addition, each team was allowed to sign one player whose salary did not count against the cap.

Teams

Twelve teams compete in the league – the top eleven teams from the previous season and London Welsh, who were promoted from the 2011–12 RFU Championship to the top flight for the first time. They replaced Newcastle Falcons, who were relegated after fifteen years in the top flight.

Stadiums and locations

Pre-season

Following a lengthy appeal, London Welsh successfully gained promotion to the Premiership, having contested the Professional Game Boards recommendation to refuse them entry based on the Minimum Standards Criteria. This meant that Newcastle Falcons were relegated, following their confirmation that they would not appeal the new decision.

The 2012 edition of the Premiership Rugby Sevens Series began on 13 July 2012 at The Stoop, continued on 20 July at Edgeley Park, and 26 July at Kingsholm. This was the first opportunity of the season for any of the teams competing in the Premiership to win a trophy. The finals were held on 3 August 2012 at The Recreation Ground, and the Series was won by London Irish.

Table

Berth in the 2013–14 Heineken Cup

Regular season

Premiership Rugby announced the fixture list on 4 July 2012. As with previous seasons, Round 1 included the London Double Header at Twickenham.

Fixtures as per Premiership Rugby Match Centre.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Penalty Try (2) 55' c, 79' c

Tongaʻuiha 58' c van Velze 74' c

Homer (1/1) 71'

Bell 72' c Robinson 72' Claassens 14' c

Jackson 72' c Lowe 20' c Robshaw 38' c Evans 66' c

Hodgson 70' c

Round 14

Cueto 55' c Cipriani (1/1) 65'

Webber 23' m [[Tom Biggs| Biggs]] 53' m Agulla (2) 62' c, 77' c Heathcote (2/2)

Morris 58' c Bowden 79' m Bowden (0/1) Arscott (0/1)

Treviranus 70' c

Wade 13' c Daly (0/2)

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

Round 19

Qera 70' c Smith 23' c

Fearns 8' m Rokoduguni 40' c Agulla 64' c Claassens 78' c Heathcote (2/2) Heathcote (1/1) 75'

Ashton 68' m

Morris 70' c Tait 74' m Ford (0/1)

Drauniniu 59' c Steenson 20' c Mumm 76' c

Aulika 9' c Lahiff 53' c Cueto 26' m Myall 40' c Gaskell 45' m

Round 20

Peel (2) 6' c, 74' m Shephard 39' c Cueto 80' m Cipriani (0/2)

Monye 63' c Evans (1/1) 34' Devoto (1/1) 22'

Ewers 77' c Slade (1/1) Humphreys (1/1) 58'

Browne 70' c Ross (1/1) Burrell (2) 44' m, 78' c Lamb (1/1)

Nieto 54' c Ashton 74' c Wray 79' c Kvesic 48' c

Kitchener 26' m Hawkins 36' m Thompstone 59' c Daly (1/1) 53'

Round 21

Rokoduguni 17' m Agulla 38' c Louw 73' m Donald (1/1) Heathcote (0/1) Heathcote (1/2) Youngs 25' c

Morgan 61' c

Aulika (2) 36' c, 42' c Hala'ufia 38' m Tagicakibau 61' c Garvey 66' c Scott 31' c Bateman 74' c

Grove 41' c Williams 31' m Care (2) 37' m, 50' m Brown 71' c

Dickson 30' c Burrell 34' m Elliott (2) 56' m, 65' m Wilson (2) 70' c, 79' m Lamb (1/3)

Southwell 49' c Varndell 79' c Bell (1/1) Daly (1/1) 6' Nowell 19' c Welch 41' c Thomas 56' c

Round 22

All games in Round 22 kicked off at 15.00 on 4 May 2013, so as to not give any team a potential advantage with regards to knowing how to achieve a play-off berth, Heineken Cup place, or safety from relegation.

Play-offs

As in previous seasons, the top four teams in the Premiership table, following the conclusion of the regular season, contest the play-off semi-finals in a 1st vs 4th and 2nd vs 3rd format, with the higher ranking team having home advantage. The two winners of the semi-finals then meet in the Premiership Final at Twickenham on 25 May 2013.

Bracket

| RD1-seed1 = 2 | RD1-team1 = Leicester Tigers | RD1-score1 = 33 | RD1-seed2 = 3 | RD1-team2 = Harlequins | RD1-score2 = 16

| RD1-seed3 = 1 | RD1-team3 = Saracens | RD1-score3 = 13 | RD1-seed4 = 4 | RD1-team4 = Northampton Saints | RD1-score4 = 27

| RD2-seed1 = 1 | RD2-team1 = Leicester Tigers | RD2-score1 = 37 | RD2-seed2 = 3 | RD2-team2 = Northampton Saints | RD2-score2 = 17

Semi-finals

Final

The final was contested at Twickenham on 25 May 2013 between Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints with Leicester winning 37–17. Northampton captain Dylan Hartley was sent off for using foul and abusive language just before half-time after calling referee Wayne Barnes a "f*****g cheat" . This was the first time a player has ever been red carded in a Premiership Final, as was said by the commentators during the match.

Con: Flood (1/1) Ford (0/3) Pen: Flood 5' Ford 40+2', 56', 81' Con: Myler (1/3) Red Card: Hartley 40+1'

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Leading scorers

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Most points

Source:

Most tries

Source:

References

References

1. "Statistics; Official Aviva Premiership Website: Top Points Scorers". Premiership Rugby.
2. "Statistics; Official Aviva Premiership Website: Top Try scorers". Premiership Rugby.
3. (26 May 2011). "Premiership clubs handed salary cap boost". ESPN Scrum.
4. (17 December 2008). "Premiership ponders wage cap cut". BBC Sport.
5. "Fixtures & Results for Season 2012 – 2013". Saracens Ltd.
6. (29 June 2012). "London Welsh promoted on appeal". ESPN Scrum.
7. (3 July 2012). "Newcastle opt against appeal". ESPN Scrum.
8. "Fixtures - J.P. Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby 7s - Previous Seasons". Premiership Rugby.
9. (7 March 2013). "Panel of Inquiry decision". Rugby Football Union.
10. Morgan, Paul. (4 July 2012). "Aviva Premiership Rugby fixtures announced". Premiership Rugby.
11. (25 May 2013). "Tigers power to tenth title as Hartley sees red". ESPN.
12. (25 May 2013). "Leicester 37-17 Northampton". BBC Sport.
13. (25 May 2013). "Leicester Tigers 37 Northampton Saints 17 match report: Dylan Hartley's rant cannot sour Leicester win". The Independent.
14. (25 May 2013). "Leicester win Premiership final as Northampton's Dylan Hartley sees red". Guardian.