The 2012–13 Aviva Premiership was the 26th season of the top-flight English domestic rugby union competition and the third one to be sponsored by Aviva. The reigning champions entering the season were Harlequins, who had claimed their first title after defeating Leicester Tigers in the 2012 final. London Welsh had been promoted as champions from the 2011–12 RFU Championship, their first promotion to the top flight.
Summary
Leicester Tigers won their tenth title after defeating Northampton Saints in the final at Twickenham, having finished second in the regular season table. London Welsh were relegated, in part, for having received a 5-point deduction for fielding a player who did not hold an Effective Registration. It was the first time that London Welsh had been relegated from the top flight since they first achieved promotion.
For the second consecutive season, significant changes were made to the Premiership's salary cap. Last season, "academy credits" were introduced, giving each team a £30,000 cap credit for each of up to eight home-grown players in the senior squad.[3] This season, the team cap rose for the first time since the 2008–09 season when it was increased from £2.2 million to £4 million.[4] The new cap is £4.26 million before academy credits and up to £4.5 million with credits.[3] In addition, each team was allowed to sign one player whose salary did not count against the cap.[3]
Teams
Twelve teams compete in the league – the top eleven teams from the previous season and London Welsh, who were promoted from the 2011–12 RFU Championship to the top flight for the first time. They replaced Newcastle Falcons, who were relegated after fifteen years in the top flight.
Following a lengthy appeal, London Welsh successfully gained promotion to the Premiership, having contested the Professional Game Boards recommendation to refuse them entry based on the Minimum Standards Criteria.[6] This meant that Newcastle Falcons were relegated, following their confirmation that they would not appeal the new decision.[7]
Source: Premiership Rugby Rules for classification: Tiebreakers for teams tied on points: 1) Number of matches won; 2) Difference between points for and against; 3) Total number of points for; 4) Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams; 5) Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled (C) Champions; (RU) Runners-up; (SF) Losing semi-finalists; (R) Relegated Notes:
^Harlequins will also play a home game at Twickenham Stadium on 29 December 2012
^London Irish will also play a home game at Twickenham Stadium on 6 September 2014
^London Wasps will also play a home game at Twickenham Stadium on 1 September 2012
^Allianz Park was not ready until February 2013. Until that time, Saracens played their home fixtures in a variety of stadia including one game at Twickenham Stadium, one game at Wembley Stadium, one game at Stadium mk and three games at Vicarage Road[5]
^Allianz Park typically has a capacity of 10,000 but this can be raised to 15,000 with temporary seating
Adams Park Attendance: 7,197 Referee: Wayne Barnes
Round 22
All games in Round 22 kicked off at 15.00 on 4 May 2013, so as to not give any team a potential advantage with regards to knowing how to achieve a play-off berth, Heineken Cup place, or safety from relegation.
Allianz Park Attendance: 9,998 Referee: Martin Fox
Play-offs
As in previous seasons, the top four teams in the Premiership table, following the conclusion of the regular season, contest the play-off semi-finals in a 1st vs 4th and 2nd vs 3rd format, with the higher ranking team having home advantage. The two winners of the semi-finals then meet in the Premiership Final at Twickenham on 25 May 2013.
The final was contested at Twickenham on 25 May 2013 between Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints with Leicester winning 37–17. Northampton captain Dylan Hartley was sent off for using foul and abusive language just before half-time after calling referee Wayne Barnes a "f*****g cheat" . This was the first time a player has ever been red carded in a Premiership Final, as was said by the commentators during the match.
[11][12][13][14]