2011–12 RFU Championship

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. 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. Esher were relegated to the 2012–13 National League 1.

On 8 May 2012 it was announced that only Bristol was eligible for promotion under the RFU's minimum standards criteria. They were subsequently beaten by the Cornish Pirates in the semi–finals who in turn lost to the eventual champions, London Welsh. 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.

Participating teams

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. Team Stadium CapacityCity/Area Bedford BluesGoldington Road5,000 (1,700 seats)Bedford, BedfordshireBristolMemorial Stadium12,100BristolCornish PiratesMennaye Field4,000 (2,200 Seats)Penzance, CornwallDoncaster KnightsCastle Park3,075Doncaster, South YorkshireEsherMolesey Road3,000Hersham, SurreyLeeds CarnegieHeadingley Rugby Stadium20,250Leeds, West YorkshireLondon ScottishAthletic Ground, Richmond4,500 (1,000 seats)Richmond, LondonLondon WelshOld Deer Park5,850 (1,000 seats)Richmond, LondonMoseleyBillesley Common3,000Birmingham, West MidlandsNottinghamMeadow Lane19,588Nottingham, NottinghamshirePlymouth AlbionThe Brickfields8,500Plymouth, DevonRotherham TitansClifton Lane2,500Rotherham, South Yorkshire

Stage one

League table

League results The Home Team is listed on the left column. Clubs BED BRI PIR DON ESH LEE SCO WEL MOS NOT PLY ROT Bedford Blues15-1732-1318-1841-1328-4543-1022-1837-2440-2629-1724-23 Bristol26-637-3352-2627-733-1932-1335-3348-1318-1639-2237-3 Cornish Pirates24-3418-1739-3234-1852-1042-1027-632-1726-2433-1230-13 Doncaster Knights33-1212-3836-2141-249-937-2810-2129-2115-3212-314-15 Esher6-556-2030-3620-2915-2024-143-3714-2922-3441-1724-12 Leeds Carnegie21-1712-1114-1316-3022-2419-1713-2622-2122-1928-2325-19 London Scottish15-416-2023-2520-2532-1716-2322-2937-216-2121-1716-11 London Welsh25-2423-1717-1737-2413-1329-3918-167-1034-2334-2325-33 Moseley15-2433-2727-2717-1535-2132-4216-2916-4110-209-38-36 Nottingham26-2824-3525-2540-1429-2024-1133-2126-1062-2034-1030-30 Plymouth Albion21-383-2316-2018-622-1125-2029-259-2421-2019-2124-20 Rotherham Titans40-3244-614-1923-1012-322-180-1520-2140-3119-1120-8

Home Win Draw Away Win

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

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

Postponed. Game rescheduled to 15 February 2012.

Round 19

Round 20

Postponed. Game rescheduled to 22 February 2012.

Postponed. Game rescheduled to 22 February 2012.

Round 18 (Rescheduled Game)

Round 21

Round 20 (Rescheduled Games)

Round 22

Attendances 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.

ClubHomeGamesTotalAverageHighestLowest% CapacityBedford 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%

Stage two Play–offs

Group A (promotion) Pos Team P W D L F A +/– BP PTS Adj 1Bristol 6 4 2 0 185 83 102 2 25 3 2London Welsh 6 4 1 1 171 127 44 3 23 2 3Nottingham 6 2 1 3 152 118 34 2 13 1 4Doncaster Knights 6 0 0 6 66 246 –180 1 1 0

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Group A Attendances ClubHomeGamesTotalAverageHighestLowest% CapacityBristol 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%

Group B (promotion) Pos Team P W D L F A +/– BP PTS Adj 1Bedford Blues 6 4 1 1 155 109 46 3 24 3 2Cornish Pirates 6 3 1 2 127 133 –6 2 18 2 3Leeds Carnegie 6 2 2 2 124 127 –3 2 15 1 4Rotherham Titans 6 1 0 5 88 125 –37 2 6 0

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Group B Attendances ClubHomeGamesTotalAverageHighestLowest% CapacityBedford 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%

Group C (relegation) Pos Team P W D L F A +/– BP PTS Adj 1Moseley 6 4 0 2 147 142 5 3 25 6 2Plymouth Albion 6 4 0 2 152 115 37 2 24 6 3London Scottish 6 2 0 4 102 139 –37 4 18 6 4Esher (R) 6 2 0 4 128 133 –5 4 16 4

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Group C Attendances ClubHomeGamesTotalAverageHighestLowest% CapacityPlymouth 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%

(Adj) Refers to adjustment for the number of points awarded before the start of the play-offs.

Stage three

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.

Semi–finals

FB 15 James Pritchard (c)RW 14 Ollie DodgeOC 13 Brendan BurkeIC 12 Henry StaffLW 11 Josh BassettFH 10 Jake SharpSH 9 Luke BaldwinN8 8 Donald BarrellOF 7 Darren FoxBF 6 Alex RaeRL 5 Mike HowardLL 4 Paul TupaiTP 3 Ben CooperHK 2 Chris LockeLP 1 Ricky ReevesReplacements:HK 16 Neil CochranePR 17 Sam WalshPR 18 Phil BoultonN8 19 Jon FisherFL 20 Sacha HardingSH 21 Darryl VeenendaalFH 22 Jamie LennardCoach: Mike Rayer FB 15 Alex DaviesRW 14 Joe AjuwaOC 13 James LewisIC 12 Hudson TongaʻuihaLW 11 Nick ScottFH 10 Gordon RossSH 9 Jack MoatesN8 8 Ed JacksonOF 7 Mike DenbeeBF 6 Jonathan Mills (c)RL 5 Matt CorkerLL 4 Adam BrownTP 3 James TideswellHK 2 Dan GeorgeLP 1 Billy MossReplacements:HK 16 Viliami Ma'asiPR 17 Shawn PittmanPR 18 Greg BatemanLK 19 Gary JohnsonFL 20 Lee BeachSH 21 Robert LewisCE 22 Seb JewellCoach: Lyn Jones Touch judges: Barry Dalby Martin Buck

FB 15 Rob CookRW 14 Grant PointerOC 13 Andrew SuniulaIC 12 Sam HillLW 11 David DohertyFH 10 Ceiron ThomasSH 9 Gavin Cattle (c)N8 8 Ben MaidmentOF 7 Phil BurgessBF 6 Chris MorganRL 5 Ian NimmoLL 4 Laurie McGloneTP 3 Alan PaverHK 2 Dave WardLP 1 Carl RimmerReplacements:PR 16 Ryan StorerHK 17 Rob EllowayPR 18 Rudi BritsFL 19 Dave EwersN8 20 Kyle MarriottSH 21 Tom KessellWG 22 Matt EvansCoach: Ian Davies FB 15 Jon GoodridgeRW 14 Jack ToveyOC 13 Fautua OttoIC 12 Luke EvesLW 11 William HeluFH 10 Matthew JonesSH 9 Ruki TipunaN8 8 Dan MontaguOF 7 James MerrimanBF 6 Iain Grieve (c)RL 5 Roy WintersLL 4 Glen TownsonTP 3 Jason HobsonHK 2 Jason Harris-WrightLP 1 Mark IrishReplacements:HK 16 Tom ChannonPR 17 Mark LilleyPR 18 Wayne ThompsonLK 19 Ben GlynnFL 20 Henry VanderglasFH 21 Tom SlaterFB 22 Matty JamesCoach: Liam Middleton Man of the Match: Gavin Cattle

Touch judges: James Minards Richard Parker-Sedgemore Television Match Official: Geoff Warren

FB 15 Jon GoodridgeRW 14 William HeluOC 13 Fautua OttoIC 12 Luke EvesLW 11 George WatkinsFH 10 Tristan RobertsSH 9 Ruki TipunaN8 8 Iain Grieve (c)OF 7 James MerrimanBF 6 Josh OvensRL 5 Roy WintersLL 4 Mariano SambucettiTP 3 Jason HobsonHK 2 Jason Harris-WrightLP 1 Mark IrishReplacements:HK 16 Ross JohnstonePR 17 Mark LilleyPR 18 Wayne ThompsonLK 19 Ben GlynnFL 20 Henry VanderglasSH 21 Tom SlaterFH 22 Matty JamesCoach: Liam Middleton FB 15 Rob CookRW 14 Grant PointerOC 13 Andrew SuniulaIC 12 Sam HillLW 11 David DohertyFH 10 Ceiron ThomasSH 9 Gavin Cattle (c)N8 8 Kyle MarriottOF 7 Phil BurgessBF 6 Chris MorganRL 5 Ian NimmoLL 4 Laurie McGloneTP 3 Alan PaverHK 2 Dave WardLP 1 Carl RimmerReplacements:PR 16 Ryan StorerHK 17 Rob EllowayPR 18 Rudi BritsLK 19 Matt SmithFL 20 Dave EwersWG 21 Matt EvansSH 22 Tom KessellCoach: Ian Davies Man of the Match: Phil Burgess Touch judges: Roger Baileff Chris Sharp Television Match Official: Steve Savage Cornish Pirates progressed to the Championship final, winning on aggregate 63–53.

FB 15 Alex DaviesRW 14 Joe AjuwaOC 13 James LewisIC 12 Hudson TongaʻuihaLW 11 Nick ScottFH 10 Gordon RossSH 9 Robert LewisN8 8 Ed JacksonOF 7 Mike DenbeeBF 6 Jonathan Mills (c)RL 5 Matt CorkerLL 4 Adam BrownTP 3 James TideswellHK 2 Dan GeorgeLP 1 Max LahiffReplacements:PR 16 Billy MossPR 17 Greg BatemanLK 18 Gary JohnsonFL 19 Lee BeachSH 20 Jack MoatesFH 21 Seb JewellWG 22 Ashley SmithCoach: Lyn Jones FB 15 James Pritchard (c)RW 14 Ollie DodgeOC 13 Brendan BurkeIC 12 Henry StaffLW 11 Josh BassettFH 10 Jamie LennardSH 9 Luke BaldwinN8 8 Jon FisherOF 7 Sacha HardingBF 6 Gregor GillandersRL 5 Mike HowardLL 4 Paul TupaiTP 3 Phil BoultonHK 2 Neil CochraneLP 1 Ricky ReevesReplacements:HK 16 Chris LockePR 17 Sam WalshLK 18 Alex RaeN8 19 Donald BarrellFL 20 Darren FoxSH 21 Darryl VeenendaalCE 22 Ian VassCoach: Mike Rayer Touch judges: Darryl Chapman Steve Leyshon London Welsh progressed to the Championship final, winning on aggregate 30–27.

Final

FB 15 Rob CookRW 14 Grant PointerOC 13 Andrew SuniulaIC 12 Sam HillLW 11 David DohertyFH 10 Ceiron ThomasSH 9 Gavin Cattle (c)N8 8 Kyle MarriottOF 7 Phil BurgessBF 6 Dave EwersRL 5 Ian NimmoLL 4 Laurie McGloneTP 3 Alan PaverHK 2 Dave WardLP 1 Carl RimmerReplacements:PR 16 Ryan StorerHK 17 Rob EllowayPR 18 Rudi BritsLK 19 Matt SmithN8 20 Ben MaidmentSH 21 Tom KessellWG 22 Matt EvansCoach: Ian Davies FB 15 Alex DaviesRW 14 Joe AjuwaOC 13 James LewisIC 12 Hudson TongaʻuihaLW 11 Nick ScottFH 10 Gordon RossSH 9 Jack MoatesN8 8 Ed JacksonOF 7 Mike DenbeeBF 6 Jonathan Mills (c)RL 5 Matt CorkerLL 4 Adam BrownTP 3 James TideswellHK 2 Dan GeorgeLP 1 Billy MossReplacements:HK 16 Viliami Ma'asiPR 17 Shawn PittmanPR 18 Greg BatemanLK 19 Gary JohnsonFL 20 Lee BeachSH 21 Robert LewisFH 22 Seb JewellCoach: Lyn Jones Touch judges: Luke Pearce Chris Sharp Television Match Official: TBC

London Welsh win 66–41 on aggregate.

Total season attendances

Includes playoff games.