# 2012 Championship Cup

The 2012 Championship Cup (known for commercial reasons as the Northern Rail Cup) was the 11th season of the rugby league football competition for clubs in Great Britain's Co-operative Championship and Championship One.
In the final staged at Bloomfield Road in Blackpool, Halifax defeated Featherstone Rovers 21-12 to claim the trophy.

## Format

The twenty teams were split up into two pools. Each team played two home games and two away games against teams in their pool. The top four teams in each pool following the conclusion of the group stage fixtures then progressed into an open draw for the knock-out quarter-final stage. The competition started on February 5.
Toulouse Olympique competed in this competition despite withdrawing from the Co-operative Championship. All the teams from the Championships competed except for the newly reformed North Wales Crusaders.

## 2012 competition results
### Pool 1
#### Round 1

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date & time | Referee | Venue | Attendance |
| London Skolars | 16 – 32 | Toulouse Olympique | 9 April, 12:30 BST | | New River Stadium | 0 |
| Keighley Cougars | 16 – 22 | Batley Bulldogs | 12 February, 14:00 GMT | Gareth Hewer | Cougar Park | 1,095 |
| Dewsbury Rams | 6 – 36 | Halifax | 12 February, 15:00 GMT | Tim Roby | Tetley's Stadium | 1,347 |
| Oldham | 0 – 68 | Featherstone Rovers | 15 February, 20:00 GMT | Jamie Leahy | Whitebank Stadium | 672 |
| Rochdale Hornets | 0 – 0 | South Wales Scorpions | 9 May, 20:00 BST | | Spotland Stadium | 0 |

#### Round 2

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date & time | Referee | Venue | Attendance |
| Toulouse Olympique | 24 – 24 | Keighley Cougars | 18 February, 19:00 GMT | | Stade des Minimes | 650 |
| Batley Bulldogs | 50 – 16 | London Skolars | 19 February, 14:30 GMT | Warren Turley | Mount Pleasant | 601 |
| Featherstone Rovers | 38 – 6 | Dewsbury Rams | 19 February, 15:00 GMT | Clint Sharrad | Post Office Road | 1,943 |
| Halifax | 38 – 6 | Rochdale Hornets | 19 February, 15:00 GMT | Matt Thomason | The Shay | 1,881 |
| South Wales Scorpions | 36 – 36 | Oldham | 19 February, 15:00 GMT | Peter Brooke | The Gnoll | 849 |

#### Round 3

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date & time | Referee | Venue | Attendance |
| Batley Bulldogs | 34 - 12 | Toulouse Olympique | 25 February, 14:00 GMT | Greg Dolan | Mount Pleasant | 620 |
| Halifax | 32 - 34 | Featherstone Rovers | 26 February, 15:00 GMT | Robert Hicks | The Shay | 2,530 |
| Oldham | 28 - 30 | Dewsbury Rams | 26 February, 15:00 GMT | | Whitebank Stadium | 573 |
| Rochdale Hornets | 16 - 40 | Keighley Cougars | 26 February, 15:00 GMT | George Stokes | Spotland Stadium | 604 |
| South Wales Scorpions | 30 - 38 | London Skolars | 26 February, 15:00 GMT | Tom Crashley | The Gnoll | 205 |

#### Round 4

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date & time | Referee | Venue | Attendance |
| Toulouse Olympique | 44 - 30 | South Wales Scorpions | 3 March, 19:00 GMT | Matthew Thomasson | Stade des Minimes | 0 |
| Keighley Cougars | 26 – 12 | Oldham | 4 March, 14:00 GMT | Ronnie Laughton | Cougar Park | 0 |
| Dewsbury Rams | 32 - 10 | Rochdale Hornets | 4 March, 15:00 GMT | Matthew Kidd | Spotland Stadium | 0 |
| Featherstone Rovers | 22 - 34 | Batley Bulldogs | 4 March, 15:00 GMT | Jamie Leahy | Post Office Road | 0 |
| London Skolars | 12 - 16 | Halifax | 4 March, 15:00 GMT | | New River Stadium | 0 |

#### Pool 1 qualification table

2012 Northern Rail Cup: Pool 1 :
| # | | PLD | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | PTS |
| 1 | Batley Bulldogs | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 140 | 66 | 74 | 0 | 12 |
| 2 | Featherstone Rovers | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 162 | 72 | 90 | 1 | 10 |
| 3 | Halifax | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 122 | 58 | 64 | 1 | 10 |
| 4 | Keighley Cougars | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 106 | 74 | 32 | 1 | 9 |
| 5 | Toulouse Olympique | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 112 | 104 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 6 | Dewsbury Rams | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 74 | 112 | -38 | 0 | 6 |
| 7 | London Skolars | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 82 | 128 | -46 | 2 | 5 |
| 8 | South Wales Scorpions | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 96 | 118 | -22 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | Oldham R.L.F.C. | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 76 | 160 | -84 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | Rochdale Hornets | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 32 | 110 | -78 | 0 | 0 |
* Teams qualifying for the next round
Source: Northern Rail Cup Table – The RFL
Classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference. Competition Points: For win = 3; For draw = 2; For loss by 12 points or fewer = 1

### Pool 2
#### Round 1

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date & time | Referee | Venue | Attendance |
| Gateshead Thunder | 10 - 48 | Doncaster | 15 February, 20:00 GMT | | Gateshead International Stadium | 243 |
| Hunslet Hawks | 34 - 18 | Whitehaven | 15 February, 19:30 GMT | Dave Merrick | South Leeds Stadium | 305 |
| Leigh Centurions | 48 - 16 | Barrow Raiders | 12 February, 15:00 GMT | George Stokes | Leigh Sports Village | 1,860 |
| Workington Town | 14 - 28 | Sheffield Eagles | 12 February, 15:00 GMT | Chris Leatherbarrow | Derwent Park | 532 |
| York City Knights | 30 - 22 | Swinton Lions | 23 February, 20:00 GMT | | Huntington Stadium | 504 |

#### Round 2

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date & time | Referee | Venue | Attendance |
| Barrow Raiders | 31 - 24 | Workington Town | 19 February, 14:00 GMT | Jamie Leahy | Craven Park | 1,366 |
| Swinton Lions | 18 - 24 | Hunslet Hawks | 19 February, 14:00 GMT | Thierry Alibert | Leigh Sports Village | 475 |
| Doncaster | 18 - 29 | York City Knights | 19 February, 15:00 GMT | Ronnie Laughton | Keepmoat Stadium | 418 |
| Sheffield Eagles | 23 - 22 | Leigh Centurions | 19 February, 15:00 GMT | Robert Hicks | Don Valley Stadium | 1,045 |
| Whitehaven | 44 - 18 | Gateshead Thunder | 19 February, 15:00 GMT | Gary Dolan | Recreation Ground | 649 |

#### Round 3

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date & time | Referee | Venue | Attendance |
| Barrow Raiders | 32 - 16 | Swinton Lions | 26 February, 14:00 GMT | Dave Merrick | Craven Park | 1,083 |
| Doncaster | 12 - 56 | Sheffield Eagles | 26 February, 15:00 GMT | Warren Turley | Keepmoat Stadium | 731 |
| Leigh Centurions | 30 - 12 | Hunslet Hawks | 26 February, 15:00 GMT | Chris Leatherbarrow | Leigh Sports Village | 1,374 |
| Workington Town | 44 - 16 | Whitehaven | 26 February, 15:00 GMT | Matthew Kidd | Derwent Park | 1,147 |
| York City Knights | 26 - 22 | Gateshead Thunder | 26 February, 15:00 GMT | D Sharpe | Huntington Stadium | 635 |

#### Round 4

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date & time | Referee | Venue | Attendance |
| Sheffield Eagles | 36 - 4 | York City Knights | 2 March, 19:30 GMT | Robert Hicks | Don Valley Stadium | 0 |
| Swinton Lions | 30 - 12 | Workington Town | 4 March, 14:00 GMT | Clint Sharrad | Leigh Sports Village | 0 |
| Gateshead Thunder | 0 - 42 | Leigh Centurions | 4 March, 15:00 GMT | Tom Crashley | Gateshead International Stadium | 0 |
| Hunslet Hawks | 20 - 10 | Doncaster | 4 March, 15:00 GMT | Peter Brooke | South Leeds Stadium | 0 |
| Whitehaven | 10 - 18 | Barrow Raiders | 4 March, 15:00 GMT | | Recreation Ground | 0 |

#### Pool 2 qualification table

2012 Northern Rail Cup: Pool 2 :
| # | | PLD | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | PTS |
| 1 | Sheffield Eagles | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 143 | 52 | 91 | 0 | 12 |
| 2 | Leigh Centurions | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 142 | 51 | 91 | 1 | 10 |
| 3 | Hunslet Hawks | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 90 | 76 | 14 | 0 | 9 |
| 4 | Barrow Raiders | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 97 | 98 | -1 | 0 | 9 |
| 5 | York City Knights | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 89 | 98 | -9 | 0 | 9 |
| 6 | Swinton Lions | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 86 | 98 | -12 | 2 | 5 |
| 7 | Doncaster | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 88 | 115 | -27 | 2 | 5 |
| 8 | Workington Town | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 94 | 105 | -11 | 1 | 4 |
| 9 | Whitehaven | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 88 | 112 | -24 | 1 | 4 |
| 10 | Gateshead Thunder | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 50 | 160 | -110 | 0 | 0 |
* Teams qualifying for the next round
Source: Northern Rail Cup Table – The RFL
Classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference. Competition Points: For win = 3; For draw = 2; For loss by 12 points or fewer = 1

### Finals
#### Finals Tournament bracket

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| H | Leigh Centurions | 32 | | | | | |
| A | Batley Bulldogs | 12 | | | | | |
| A | Batley Bulldogs | 12 | H | Featherstone Rovers | 54 | | |
| | | | A | Leigh Centurions | 16 | | |
| H | Keighley Cougars | 12 | A | Leigh Centurions | 16 | | |
| A | Featherstone Rovers | 60 | | | | | |
| A | Featherstone Rovers | 60 | | | | N | Featherstone Rovers |
| | | | | | | N | Halifax RLFC |
| H | Sheffield Eagles | 40 | | | | | | N | Halifax RLFC |
| A | Hunslet Hawks | 8 | | | | | |
| A | Hunslet Hawks | 8 | H | Sheffield Eagles | 22 | | |
| | | | A | Halifax RLFC | 24 | | |
| H | Halifax RLFC | 54 | A | Halifax RLFC | 24 | | |
| A | Barrow Raiders | 24 | | | | | |

#### Quarter-finals

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date & time | Referee | Venue | Attendance |
| Keighley Cougars | 12–60 | Featherstone Rovers | 19:30 BST, 14 June 2012 | Jamie Leahy | Cougar Park | 828 |
| Sheffield Eagles | 40–8 | Hunslet Hawks | 14:00 BST, 15 June 2012 | Ronnie Laughton | Don Valley Stadium | 286 |
| Leigh Centurions | 32–12 | Batley Bulldogs | 14:00 BST, 16 June 2012 | Clint Sharrad | Leigh Sports Village | 2,002 |
| Halifax | 54–24 | Barrow Raiders | 15:00 BST, 16 June 2012 | | The Shay | 1,448 |
| Source: |||||||

#### Semi-finals

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date & time | Referee | Venue | Attendance |
| Featherstone Rovers | 54–16 | Leigh Centurions | 19:30 BST, 5 July 2012 | Jamie Leahy | Bigfellas Stadium | 1,721 |
| Sheffield Eagles | 22-24 | Halifax | 19:30 BST, 6 July 2012 | Ronnie Laughton | Don Valley Stadium | |
| Source: |||||||

#### Final

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date & time | Referee | Venue | Attendance |
| Featherstone Rovers | 12–21 | Halifax | 15:00 BST, 29 July 2012 | Jamie Leahy | Bloomfield Road, Blackpool | 6,691 |
| Source: |||||||