2012-13 English Premiership (rugby union)
| 2012–13 Aviva Premiership | |
|---|---|
| Countries |
 England
|
| Date | 1 September 2012 – 25 May 2013 |
| Champions | Leicester Tigers |
| Runners-up | Northampton Saints |
| Relegated | London Welsh |
| Matches played | 135 |
| Attendance | 1,684,804 (average 12,480 per match) |
| Tries scored | 542 (average 4.015 per match) |
| Top point scorer |
Nick Evans (Harlequins) (258 points) |
| Top try scorer |
Tom Varndell (London Wasps) Christian Wade (London Wasps) (13 tries) |
| Official website | |
| www |
|
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← 2011–12
2013–14 →
|
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The 2012–13 Aviva Premiership was the 26th season of the top flight of the English domestic rugby union competitions and the third to be sponsored by Aviva. On 14 June, Premiership Rugby, the competition organisers, announced through their Facebook page that the official fixture list would be released at 2pm on 4 July 2012.
The reigning champions entering the season were Harlequins, who claimed their first-ever top-flight title after defeating Leicester Tigers in the final, having also finished atop the league table in the regular season.London Welsh are the newcomers for this season, after having earned promotion by winning the 2011–12 RFU Championship play-offs against Cornish Pirates, and following a lengthy appeal process over a supposed lack of fulfillment of the Premiership's minimum standards criteria.Newcastle Falcons, having finished bottom of the 2011–12 table, were relegated to the RFU Championship following the appeal.
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. 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. The new cap is £4.26 million before academy credits and up to £4.5 million with credits. In addition, each team is allowed to sign one player whose salary does not count against the cap.
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
source: Premiership Rugby
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. This meant that Newcastle Falcons were relegated, following their confirmation that they would not appeal the new decision.
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