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.
Zebre replaced Aironi Rugby after they had their licence revoked by the Italian Rugby Federation for financial reasons.[7] Roberto Manghi will become their Head coach for their début season.
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.[11]
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[14]
number of matches won;
the difference between points for and points against;
the number of tries scored;
the most points scored;
the difference between tries for and tries against;
the fewest red cards received;
the fewest yellow cards received.
Green background (rows 1 to 4) are play-off places. Qualification for the Heineken Cup is based on each country's allocation, i.e. three highest–ranked Irish teams, three highest–ranked Welsh teams, both Italian teams and both Scottish teams. Leinster won the Amlin Challenge Cup, giving Ireland an extra Heineken Cup place that passed to Connacht.
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.[36]
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.[151]
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.
^Although Murrayfield's full capacity is 67,144, only the lower section of the West Stand, with a capacity of 12,464, is generally opened for Edinburgh fixtures.
