The 2012 Championship 1 was a semi-professional rugby league football competition played in England and Wales, the third tier of the sport in the country. For one season only,[2] the top four teams (Barrow Raiders, Doncaster, Whitehaven and Workington Town) were promoted to the 2013 Rugby Football League Championship, while the champions of the division were decided by a six-team play-off, which was won by Doncaster, who beat Barrow 16–13 at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.[3]

2012 Championship 1
LeagueChampionship 1
Duration18 rounds
Teams10
Highest attendance1,954 Workington Town v Whitehaven (24 June 2012)[1]
Lowest attendance186 Gateshead Thunder v London Skolars (22 July 2012)[1]
Broadcast partnersPremier Sports
2012 Season
Champions Doncaster
League leaders Doncaster
Runners-up Barrow Raiders
Top point-scorer(s) Dylan Skee (194)[1]
Top try-scorer(s) Lee Waterman (25)[1]

There was no relegation from this league as it is the lowest tier of professional rugby league. All of the teams competed in the 2012 Challenge Cup and the 2012 National League Cup.

2012 structure

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The competition featured mainly the same teams as it did in 2011. The exceptions being that the Swinton Lions and the Keighley Cougars were both promoted to compete in the 2012 RFL Championship. The Barrow Raiders were relegated from the 2010 RFL Championship, while the North Wales Crusaders enter the division following the collapse of the Crusaders, who lost a Super League licence for the 2012 season.

Championship 1
Team & Current Season 2011 Position Stadium Capacity Location
  Barrow Raiders 11th (Championship) Craven Park 7,600 Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria
  Doncaster 5th Keepmoat Stadium 15,231 Doncaster, South Yorkshire
  Gateshead Thunder 10th Thunderdome 11,800 Gateshead, Tyne and Wear
  London Skolars 9th New River Stadium 5,000 Haringey, London
  North Wales Crusaders N/A Racecourse Ground 10,500 (15,500 with The Kop open) Wrexham, Wales
  Oldham 7th Whitebank Stadium 1500 (temporary capacity) Limeside, Oldham, Greater Manchester
  Rochdale Hornets 4th Spotland Stadium 10,249 Rochdale, Greater Manchester
  South Wales Scorpions 8th The Gnoll 6,000 Neath, West Glamorgan, Wales
  Whitehaven 6th Recreation Ground 7,500 Whitehaven, Cumbria
  Workington Town 2nd Derwent Park 10,000 Workington, Cumbria

Season table

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Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Bns Pts
1   Doncaster (P) 18 15 0 3 717 347 +370 1 46
2   Barrow Raiders (P) 18 14 0 4 617 383 +234 3 45
3   Workington Town (P) 18 12 0 5 617 330 +287 4 43
4   Whitehaven R.L.F.C. (P) 18 12 0 6 549 421 +118 1 37
5   Rochdale Hornets (Pl) 18 9 0 9 496 462 +34 1 28
6   Oldham (Pl) 18 7 1 10 465 485 -20 5 28
7   London Skolars 18 7 1 10 558 560 -2 2 26
8   North Wales Crusaders 18 7 0 11 460 628 −168 3 24
9   South Wales Scorpions 18 4 0 14 365 680 -315 4 16
10   Gateshead Thunder 18 1 0 17 276 824 −548 2 5
  Teams qualifying for promotion to 2013 Co-operative Championship and Champions play-offs[4]
  Teams qualifying for Champions play-offs[4]


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.
(P) - Promoted, (Pl) - Qualified for Playoffs

Season results

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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 Championship 1.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Stats Centre". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  2. ^ "Championship 1 agree promotion criteria for 2012". Gateshead Thunder. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  3. ^ "Barrow Raiders 13–16 Doncaster". BBC Sport. 30 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Co-operative Championship One agree promotion criteria". Co-operative Championship. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
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