The 2012–13 Pro12 League (also known as the RaboDirect Pro12 for sponsorship reasons) was the 12th season of the rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, the third with its current 12-team format, and the second with RaboDirect as title sponsor.
Ospreys were the defending champions, but they failed to qualify for the end-of-season playoffs.
The twelve teams that competed were the four Irish teams, Munster, Leinster, Connacht and Ulster; two Scottish teams, Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors; four Welsh teams, Cardiff Blues, Newport Gwent Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets; and two Italian teams, Benetton Treviso and newly created Zebre.
The title was won by Leinster, defeating Ulster 24–18 in the final.
Changes for the season
Italy Zebre replaced Aironi Rugby after they had their licence revoked by the Italian Rugby Federation for financial reasons. Roberto Manghi will become their Head coach for their début season.
Scotland Ahead of this season Glasgow Warriors moved home, leaving their previous home of Firhill in the Maryhill area of the city for the smaller Scotstoun Stadium. They also came into the season with a new head coach, with former Scotland stand-off Gregor Townsend replacing Sean Lineen.
Ireland New Zealander Rob Penney replaced Tony McGahan as director of rugby at Munster, and fellow New Zealander Mark Anscombe replaced Brian McLaughlin as head coach of Ulster. In Munster, Paul O'Connell stood down as captain, with Doug Howlett announced as his replacement.
Wales The Welsh regions saw a number of changes in coaching personnel, as Phil Davies took over the reins at Cardiff Blues, Steve Tandy replaced Sean Holley as Ospreys head coach and former Ireland international Simon Easterby succeeding Nigel Davies at the Scarlets, after he departed to take over at English Premiership side Gloucester. Scarlets also announced that Rob McCusker would replace Matthew Rees as captain.
On 28 August 2012, the Welsh Rugby Union announced a new annual event which will feature all four regions playing in a doubleheader at Millennium Stadium (similar to the long-established London Double Header in the English Premiership). The first of these events took place on 30 March 2013, with an initial contract set to run for four years.
Teams Winners; 2nd–4th place; Other teams.
Team Coach Captain Stadium Capacity Benetton Treviso Franco Smith Antonio Pavanello Stadio Comunale di Monigo 6,700 Cardiff Blues Phil Davies Andries Pretorius Cardiff Arms Park 12,500 Connacht Eric Elwood Gavin Duffy Galway Sportsgrounds 7,500 Edinburgh Michael Bradley Greig Laidlaw Murrayfield Stadium 67,144 Glasgow Warriors Gregor Townsend Alastair Kellock Scotstoun Stadium 9,708 Leinster Josef Schmidt Leo Cullen RDS Arena Aviva Stadium 18,500 51,700 Munster Rob Penney Doug Howlett Thomond ParkMusgrave Park 26,5009,251 Newport Gwent Dragons Darren Edwards Lewis Evans Rodney Parade 11,676 Ospreys Steve Tandy Alun Wyn Jones Liberty Stadium 20,532 Scarlets Simon Easterby Rob McCusker Parc y Scarlets 14,870 Ulster Mark Anscombe Johann Muller Ravenhill 12,300 Zebre Roberto Manghi Gonzalo Garcia Stadio XXV Aprile 3,500
Table
Fixtures All times are local.
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 4 rescheduled match
This match – originally scheduled to be held during Round 4, on 21 September 2012 – was postponed due to the death of Ulster player Nevin Spence in a farming accident on 15 September.
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
1872 Cup 1st round
Welsh Round
Round 12
1872 Cup 2nd round
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
Round 18
Round 19
Judgement Day
Round 20
Round 21
Round 19 rescheduled match
This match – originally scheduled to be held during Round 19, on 30 March 2013 – was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
Round 22
Play-offs
Semi-finals The semi-finals were played on the weekend of 10/11 May 2013; these followed a 1 v 4, 2 v 3 system with the games being played at the home ground of the higher placed teams.
Final
The final was contested on Saturday, 25 May 2013, between the winners of the two semi-finals.
FB 15 Jared PayneRW 14 Andrew TrimbleOC 13 Darren CaveIC 12 Stuart Olding LW 11 Tommy BoweFH 10 Paddy JacksonSH 9 Ruan PienaarN8 8 Nick WilliamsOF 7 Chris HenryBF 6 Robbie Diack RL 5 Dan TuohyLL 4 Johann Muller (c)TP 3 John AfoaHK 2 Rory BestLP 1 Tom Court Replacements:HK 16 Rob HerringPR 17 Callum Black PR 18 Declan FitzpatrickLK 19 Iain Henderson FL 20 Mike McComishSH 21 Paul MarshallCE 22 Mike Allen FB 23 Peter NelsonCoach: Mark Anscombe FB 15 Isa Nacewa RW 14 Fergus McFaddenOC 13 Brian O'DriscollIC 12 Ian MadiganLW 11 Andrew ConwayFH 10 Johnny SextonSH 9 Isaac BossN8 8 Jamie HeaslipOF 7 Shane JenningsBF 6 Kevin McLaughlinRL 5 Devin Toner LL 4 Leo Cullen (c)TP 3 Mike Ross HK 2 Richardt Strauss LP 1 Cian Healy Replacements:HK 16 Seán Cronin PR 17 Jack McGrath PR 18 Jamie Hagan LK 19 Quinn Roux FL 20 Rhys RuddockSH 21 John CooneyCE 22 Andrew GoodmanWG 23 David KearneyCoach: Josef Schmidt Man of the Match: Shane Jennings (Leinster)
Touch judges: George Clancy (Ireland) Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland) Television match official: Dermot Moloney (Ireland)
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 Ian Madigan Leinster 186 2 Ruan Pienaar Ulster 172 3 Tom Prydie Newport Gwent Dragons 170 4 Dan Biggar Ospreys 168 5 Ian Keatley Munster 142
Top try scorers Rank Player ClubTries1 Tim Visser Edinburgh112 D. T. H. van der Merwe Glasgow Warriors10 Andrew Trimble Ulster4 George North Scarlets 95 Robert Barbieri Benetton Treviso8
End-of-season awards
AwardWinner Players' Player of the Season: Nick Williams (Ulster) Young Player of the Season: Luke Marshall (Ulster) Coach of the Season: Gregor Townsend (Glasgow) Chairman's Award: Michael Swift (Connacht) Golden Boot: Ian Madigan (Leinster) Collision Kings: Scarlets Fairplay Award: Ulster Straight Talking Award: Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys) Try of the Season: Andrew Trimble (Ulster vs Connacht)
2012/2013 Dream Team Pos Player TeamFB 15 Stuart Hogg GlasgowRW 14 George North ScarletsOC 13 Jonathan Davies ScarletsIC 12 Luke Marshall UlsterLW 11 Tim Visser EdinburghFH 10 Ian Madigan LeinsterSH 9 Nikola Matawalu GlasgowN8 8 Nick Williams UlsterOF 7 Justin Tipuric OspreysBF 6 Alessandro Zanni TrevisoRL 5 Alastair Kellock GlasgowLL 4 Alun Wyn Jones OspreysTP 3 Adam Jones OspreysHK 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini TrevisoLP 1 Ryan Grant Glasgow
Notes
References
External links
2012–13 Pro12 at ESPN