2012 Championship 1
# 2012 Championship 1

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, 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.

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

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

2012 Championship 1vte :

| 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
* Teams qualifying for Champions 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.

## 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 Championship 1.

