2011–12 RFU Championship | |
Champions: | London Welsh |
Runnersup: | Cornish Pirates |
Relegated: | Esher |
Matches: | 174 |
Attendance: | 342849 |
Top Point Scorer: | Rob Cook (Cornish Pirates) 310 pts |
Top Try Scorer: | Josh Bassett (Bedford Blues) 17 tries |
Prevseason: | 2010–11 |
Nextseason: | 2012–13 |
The 2011–12 RFU Championship was the third season (of the professionalised format) of the second tier of the English domestic rugby union competition, played between August 2011 and May 2012. New teams to the division included Leeds Carnegie who were relegated from the Aviva Premiership 2010–11 and London Scottish who were promoted from 2010–11 National League 1.[1] The first stage was won by Bristol and the final by London Welsh who, after an appeal, won promotion to the Aviva Premiership 2012–13.[2] Esher were relegated to the 2012–13 National League 1.[3]
On 8 May 2012 it was announced that only Bristol was eligible for promotion under the RFU's minimum standards criteria.[4] They were subsequently beaten by the Cornish Pirates in the semi–finals who in turn lost to the eventual champions, London Welsh.[5] London Welsh had announced on 14 May that they would meet the RFU's eligibility test to play in the Premiership if they should win promotion and two days later announced they would play at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford if successful. 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". The appeal by London Welsh was heard by an Independent Panel on 29 June who upheld it stating ″... 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.[6] [7] [8]
This season saw Leeds Carnegie back in the Championship following relegation from the Aviva Premiership during the 2010–11 season, as well as London Scottish, who won promotion to the Championship from the National League 1 during the same season.
width=25% | Team | width=25% | Stadium | width=25% | Capacity | width=25% | City/Area |
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Bedford Blues | Goldington Road | 6,000 | Bedford, Bedfordshire | ||||
Bristol | Memorial Stadium | 12,100 | Bristol | ||||
Cornish Pirates | Mennaye Field | 4,000 (2,200 Seats) | Penzance, Cornwall | ||||
Doncaster Knights | Castle Park | 3,075 | Doncaster, South Yorkshire | ||||
Esher | Molesey Road | 3,000 | Hersham, Surrey | ||||
Leeds Carnegie | Headingley Rugby Stadium | 20,250 | Leeds, West Yorkshire | ||||
London Scottish | Athletic Ground, Richmond | 4,500 | Richmond, London | ||||
London Welsh | Old Deer Park | 5,850 | Richmond, London | ||||
Moseley | Billesley Common | 3,000 | Birmingham, West Midlands | ||||
Nottingham | Meadow Lane | 19,588 | Nottingham, Nottinghamshire | ||||
Plymouth Albion | The Brickfields | 8,500 | Plymouth, Devon | ||||
Rotherham Titans | Clifton Lane | 2,500 | Rotherham, South Yorkshire | ||||
The Home Team is listed on the left column.
Clubs | width=50px | BED | width=50px | BRI | width=50px | PIR | width=50px | DON | width=50px | ESH | width=50px | LEE | width=50px | SCO | width=50px | WEL | width=50px | MOS | width=50px | NOT | width=50px | PLY | width=50px | ROT |
Bedford Blues | 15-17 | 32-13 | 18-18 | 41-13 | 28-45 | 43-10 | 22-18 | 37-24 | 40-26 | 29-17 | 24-23 | |||||||||||||
Bristol | 26-6 | 37-33 | 52-26 | 27-7 | 33-19 | 32-13 | 35-33 | 48-13 | 18-16 | 39-22 | 37-3 | |||||||||||||
Cornish Pirates | 24-34 | 18-17 | 39-32 | 34-18 | 52-10 | 42-10 | 27-6 | 32-17 | 26-24 | 33-12 | 30-13 | |||||||||||||
Doncaster Knights | 33-12 | 12-38 | 36-21 | 41-24 | 9-9 | 37-28 | 10-21 | 29-21 | 15-32 | 12-3 | 14-15 | |||||||||||||
Esher | 6-55 | 6-20 | 30-36 | 20-29 | 15-20 | 24-14 | 3-37 | 14-29 | 22-34 | 41-17 | 24-12 | |||||||||||||
Leeds Carnegie | 21-17 | 12-11 | 14-13 | 16-30 | 22-24 | 19-17 | 13-26 | 22-21 | 22-19 | 28-23 | 25-19 | |||||||||||||
London Scottish | 15-41 | 6-20 | 23-25 | 20-25 | 32-17 | 16-23 | 22-29 | 37-21 | 6-21 | 21-17 | 16-11 | |||||||||||||
London Welsh | 25-24 | 23-17 | 17-17 | 37-24 | 13-13 | 29-39 | 18-16 | 7-10 | 34-23 | 34-23 | 25-33 | |||||||||||||
Moseley | 15-24 | 33-27 | 27-27 | 17-15 | 35-21 | 32-42 | 16-29 | 16-41 | 10-20 | 9-3 | 8-36 | |||||||||||||
Nottingham | 26-28 | 24-35 | 25-25 | 40-14 | 29-20 | 24-11 | 33-21 | 26-10 | 62-20 | 34-10 | 30-30 | |||||||||||||
Plymouth Albion | 21-38 | 3-23 | 16-20 | 18-6 | 22-11 | 25-20 | 29-25 | 9-24 | 21-20 | 19-21 | 24-20 | |||||||||||||
Rotherham Titans | 40-32 | 44-6 | 14-19 | 23-10 | 12-3 | 22-18 | 0-15 | 20-21 | 40-31 | 19-11 | 20-8 |
Home Win | Draw | Away Win |
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A total of 251,542 people watched the 132 stage one matches to give an average of 1,903 per match. The highest attendance was 8,067 on Sunday, 8 January 2012 at the match between Bristol and Bedford Blues which Bristol won 26–6.
Club | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bedford Blues | 11 | 29,049 | 2,640 | 4,396 | 1,407 | 44% |
Bristol | 11 | 57,394 | 5,217 | 8,067 | 4,023 | 43% |
Cornish Pirates | 11 | 24,729 | 2,248 | 3,214 | 1,802 | 56% |
Doncaster Knights | 11 | 15,314 | 1,392 | 4,021 | 707 | 45% |
Esher | 11 | 10,590 | 962 | 1,263 | 743 | 32% |
Leeds Carnegie | 11 | 25,460 | 2,314 | 3,167 | 1,724 | 11% |
London Scottish | 11 | 14,003 | 1,273 | 2,103 | 740 | 28% |
London Welsh | 11 | 16,740 | 1,521 | 4,400 | 365 | 26% |
Moseley | 11 | 9,085 | 825 | 995 | 682 | 28% |
Nottingham | 11 | 13,930 | 1,266 | 2,102 | 487 | 6% |
Plymouth Albion | 11 | 19,374 | 1,761 | 2,850 | 1,330 | 21% |
Rotherham Titans | 11 | 15,874 | 1,443 | 2,467 | 463 | 58% |
Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | +/– | BP | PTS | Adj | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 185 | 83 | 102 | 2 | 25 | 3 | ||
2 | London Welsh | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 171 | 127 | 44 | 3 | 23 | 2 | |
3 | Nottingham | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 152 | 118 | 34 | 2 | 13 | 1 | |
4 | Doncaster Knights | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 66 | 246 | –180 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
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Club | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bristol | 3 | 16,754 | 5,584 | 7,021 | 4,721 | 46% | |
London Welsh | 3 | 4,359 | 1,453 | 1,725 | 1,048 | 25% | |
Nottingham | 3 | 4,061 | 1,353 | 1,511 | 1,079 | 7% | |
Doncaster Knights | 3 | 2,985 | 995 | 1,113 | 898 | 32% |
Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | +/– | BP | PTS | Adj | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bedford Blues | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 155 | 109 | 46 | 3 | 24 | 3 | |
2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 127 | 133 | –6 | 2 | 18 | 2 | ||
3 | Leeds Carnegie | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 124 | 127 | –3 | 2 | 15 | 1 | |
4 | Rotherham Titans | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 88 | 125 | –37 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
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Club | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bedford Blues | 3 | 9,296 | 3,098 | 3,377 | 2,942 | 52% | |
Cornish Pirates | 3 | 6,015 | 2,005 | 2,319 | 1,923 | 50% | |
Leeds Carnegie | 3 | 4,427 | 1,475 | 1,782 | 1,057 | 7% | |
Rotherham Titans | 3 | 3,870 | 1,290 | 1,586 | 1,062 | 52% |
Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | +/– | BP | PTS | Adj | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Moseley | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 147 | 142 | 5 | 3 | 25 | 6 | |
2 | Plymouth Albion | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 152 | 115 | 37 | 2 | 24 | 6 | |
3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 102 | 139 | –37 | 4 | 18 | 6 | ||
4 | Esher (R) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 128 | 133 | –5 | 4 | 16 | 4 |
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Club | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity | |
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Plymouth Albion | 3 | 4,725 | 1,575 | 1,728 | 1,433 | 19% | |
London Scottish | 3 | 3,964 | 1,321 | 2,027 | 815 | 29% | |
Esher | 3 | 3,806 | 1,268 | 1,418 | 1,121 | 42% | |
Moseley | 3 | 3,249 | 1,083 | 1,349 | 783 | 36% |
Going into the final stage, only one of the four semi–finalists Bristol, reportedly met the RFU's standards for promotion to the Premiership. According to some reports, London Welsh were also pursuing promotion, and announced on 14 May they would attempt a legal challenge to the Premiership's entry criteria if they won the play–offs. The Cornish Pirates could not meet the criteria due to deficiencies at their home ground at the Mennaye Field.[14]
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Touch judges: Barry Dalby Martin Buck |
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Man of the Match: Gavin Cattle Touch judges: |
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Man of the Match: Phil Burgess Touch judges: Roger Baileff Chris Sharp Television Match Official: Steve Savage |
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Touch judges: Darryl Chapman Steve Leyshon |
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Touch judges: Luke Pearce Chris Sharp Television Match Official: TBC |
Club | Home Games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bedford Blues | 15 | 42,420 | 2,828 | 4,396 | 1,407 | 47% |
Bristol | 15 | 81,504 | 5,434 | 8,067 | 4,023 | 45% |
Cornish Pirates | 16 | 36,932 | 2,308 | 3,214 | 1,802 | 58% |
Doncaster Knights | 14 | 18,299 | 1,307 | 4,021 | 707 | 40% |
Esher | 14 | 14,396 | 1,028 | 1,418 | 743 | 34% |
Leeds Carnegie | 14 | 29,887 | 2,135 | 3,167 | 1,057 | 11% |
London Scottish | 14 | 17,967 | 1,283 | 2,103 | 740 | 29% |
London Welsh | 16 | 27,565 | 1,723 | 4,400 | 365 | 26% |
Moseley | 14 | 12,334 | 881 | 1,349 | 682 | 29% |
Nottingham | 14 | 17,991 | 1,285 | 2,102 | 487 | 7% |
Plymouth Albion | 14 | 24,099 | 1,721 | 2,850 | 1,330 | 20% |
Rotherham Titans | 14 | 19,744 | 1,410 | 2,467 | 463 | 56% |
Rank | Player | Team | Appearances | Points | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 30 | 310 | |||
2 | 23 | 255 | |||
3 | 27 | 250 | |||
28 | 250 | ||||
4 | 20 | 232 | |||
5 | 21 | 218 | |||
6 | 19 | 215 | |||
7 | 20 | 213 | |||
8 | 18 | 204 | |||
9 | 20 | 162 |
Rank | Player | Team | Appearances | Tries |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 23 | 17 | ||
2 | 23 | 14 | ||
3 | 26 | 13 | ||
4 | 18 | 12 | ||
21 | 12 | |||
27 | 12 | |||
29 | 12 | |||
5 | 26 | 11 | ||
6 | 14 | 10 | ||
19 | 10 | |||
21 | 10 | |||
25 | 10 | |||
28 | 10 | |||
The RFU Dream Team is picked by the coaches of the twelve championship teams with Robin Copeland (Rotherham Titans) voted in by seven of the twelve teams. The Cornish Pirates and Bristol both have four players in the team, whilst Gavin Cattle and Dave Ward (both Cornish Pirates) are in the team for the third season in a row. Mark Irish, James Merriman (both Bristol), Juan Pablo Socino (Nottingham) and Rob Cook (Cornish Pirates) are in the team for a second season.[21]
[22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29]
[30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39]