2012 RFL Championship

Co-operative Championship 2012
League	Leigh Centurions
Top point-scorer(s)	Liam Finn (247)[1]
Top try-scorer(s)	Andy Kain (22)[1]
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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]

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

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

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

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	18	15	1	2	684	354	+330	0	47
2	Leigh Centurions	18	14	0	4	612	310	+302	2	44
3	Halifax	18	14	0	4	597	377	+220	2	44
4	Sheffield Eagles	18	12	1	5	565	437	+128	3	41
5	Batley Bulldogs	18	11	0	7	551	326	+225	7	40
6	Keighley Cougars	18	8	1	9	395	368	+27	5	31
7	Dewsbury Rams	18	7	0	11	371	518	-147	4	25
8	Swinton Lions	18	4	1	13	366	632	−266	5	19
9	Hunslet Hawks	18	2	0	16	248	684	-436	4	10
10	York City Knights	18	1	0	17	272	645	-373	4	7

Teams qualifying for the Play-offs

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.

Playoffs

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

• Co-operative Championship
• 2012 Championship 1
• British rugby league system
• Super League
• Rugby League Conference
• Northern Ford Premiership
• National League Cup
• Rugby League Reserve Team Championship

References

External links

• Co-operative Championship