The 2011–12 Pro12 League (also known as the RaboDirect Pro12 for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th season of the rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, the second with its current 12-team format, and also the first with RaboDirect as title sponsor.BBC News
The twelve teams competing were the four Irish provinces, Munster, Leinster, Connacht and Ulster; two Scottish regions, Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors; four Welsh regions, Cardiff Blues, Newport Gwent Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets; and two Italian clubs Aironi and Benetton Treviso.
The competition was won by Ospreys, who defeated Leinster in the final 31–30.
Teams Winners; 2nd–4th place; Other teams.
Team Coach Captain Stadium Capacity Aironi Rowland Phillips Quintin Geldenhuys Stadio Luigi Zaffanella 6,000 Benetton Treviso Franco Smith Antonio Pavanello Stadio Comunale di Monigo 6,700 Cardiff Blues Gareth Baber Justin Burnell Paul Tito Cardiff City Stadium 26,828 Connacht Eric Elwood Gavin Duffy Galway Sportsgrounds 7,500 Edinburgh Michael Bradley Greig Laidlaw Murrayfield Stadium 67,144 Glasgow Warriors Sean Lineen Alastair Kellock Firhill Stadium 10,887 Leinster Josef Schmidt Leo Cullen RDS Arena Aviva Stadium 18,50051,700 Munster Tony McGahan Paul O'Connell Thomond ParkMusgrave Park 26,5009,251 Newport Gwent Dragons Darren Edwards Tom Willis Rodney Parade 11,676 Ospreys Scott Johnson Alun Wyn Jones Liberty Stadium 20,532 Scarlets Nigel Davies Matthew Rees Parc y Scarlets 14,870 Ulster Brian McLaughlin Johann Muller Ravenhill 12,300
Table
Fixtures All times are local.
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
1872 Cup 1st round
Round 12
1872 Cup 2nd round
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
Rearranged fixtures
Round 18
Round 19
Round 20
Round 21
Round 22
Playoffs
Semi-finals
Final
FB 15 Rob KearneyRW 14 Fergus McFaddenOC 13 Brian O'DriscollIC 12 Gordon D'ArcyLW 11 Isa NacewaFH 10 Johnny SextonSH 9 Eoin ReddanN8 8 Jamie HeaslipOF 7 Shane JenningsBF 6 Kevin McLaughlinRL 5 Devin TonerLL 4 Leo Cullen (c)TP 3 Mike RossHK 2 Seán CroninLP 1 Heinke van der MerweReplacements:HK 16 Richardt StraussPR 17 Jack McGrathPR 19 Nathan WhiteLK 21 Brad ThornFL 20 Dominic RyanSH 18 John CooneyFH 22 Ian MadiganWG 23 Dave KearneyCoach: Joe Schmidt FB 15 Richard FussellRW 14 Hanno DirksenOC 13 Andrew BishopIC 12 Ashley BeckLW 11 Shane WilliamsFH 10 Dan BiggarSH 9 Rhys WebbN8 8 Joe BearmanOF 7 Justin TipuricBF 6 Ryan JonesRL 5 Ian EvansLL 4 Alun Wyn Jones (c)TP 3 Adam Rhys JonesHK 2 Richard HibbardLP 1 Paul JamesReplacements:HK 16 Scott BaldwinPR 17 Ryan BevingtonPR 18 Aaron JarvisFL 19 James KingFL 20 Tom SmithSH 21 Kahn Fotuali'iFB 22 Matthew MorganCE 23 Tom IsaacsCoach: Sean Holley
Leading scorers Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under IRB eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-IRB nationalities.
Top points scorers Rank Player ClubPoints 1 Dan Biggar Ospreys 257 2 Duncan Weir Glasgow Warriors 198 3 Ian Keatley Munster 187 4 Greig Laidlaw Edinburgh 171 5 Kris Burton Benetton Treviso 154
Top try scorers Rank Player ClubTries1 Tim Visser Edinburgh132 Alex Cuthbert Cardiff Blues103 Simon Zebo Munster84 Ian Madigan Leinster 75 Hanno Dirksen Ospreys6
2011/2012 Dream Team Pos Player TeamFB 15 Isa Nacewa LeinsterRW 14 Tim Visser EdinburghOC 13 Casey Laulala BluesIC 12 Ashley Beck OspreysLW 11 Alex Cuthbert BluesFH 10 Duncan Weir GlasgowSH 9 Ruan Pienaar UlsterN8 8 Ben Morgan ScarletsOF 7 Justin Tipuric OspreysBF 6 David Denton EdinburghRL 5 Tom Ryder GlasgowLL 4 Dan Tuohy UlsterTP 3 BJ Botha UlsterHK 2 Richardt Strauss LeinsterLP 1 Jon Welsh Glasgow
Broadcasting rights
Setanta Sports Australia broadcasts live RaboDirect Pro12 matches in Australia. Setanta Sports Asia broadcast live RaboDirect Pro12 matches in Asia also.
Notes
References
External links Official Site 2011–12 Celtic League at ESPN