The 2011–12 Aviva Premiership was the 25th season of the top flight English domestic rugby union competition and the second one to be sponsored by Aviva. The reigning champions entering the season were Saracens, who had claimed their first title after defeating Leicester Tigers in the 2011 final. Worcester Warriors had been promoted as champions from the 2010–11 RFU Championship at the first attempt.

Summary Harlequins won their first title after defeating Leicester Tigers in the final at Twickenham having also topped the regular season table. Newcastle Falcons were relegated on the last day of the season. It was the second time that Newcastle have been relegated from the top flight since the leagues began and the first time since the 1993–94 Premiership Rugby season.

As usual, round 1 included the London Double Header at Twickenham, the eighth instance since its inception in 2004.

Rule changes This season saw the first major change in the Premiership's salary cap, which at the time stood at £4 million per team. In what is now a permanent feature of the cap system, academy credits were introduced. Each team receives a £30,000 credit for every home-grown player in their senior squad, with a maximum of eight such credits. In addition, a standard provision of the cap system that applies only in seasons that run up against the Rugby World Cup provided each team with a credit of £30,000 for each senior squad player that participated in the World Cup.

Teams Twelve teams compete in the league – the top eleven teams from the previous season and Worcester Warriors who were promoted from the 2010–11 RFU Championship after a top flight absence of one year. They replaced Leeds Carnege who were relegated after two years in the top flight.

Stadiums and locations

Club Director of Rugby/Head Coach Captain Kit Supplier Stadium Capacity City/Area Bath Puma The Recreation Ground 12,300 Bath Exeter Chiefs Samurai Sportswear Sandy Park 10,744 Exeter Gloucester Vacant KooGa Kingsholm 16,500 Gloucester Harlequins O'Neills Twickenham Stoop 14,600 Twickenham, Greater London Leicester Tigers Cotton Traders Welford Road 24,000 Leicester London Irish ISC Madejski Stadium 24,250 Reading London Wasps Canterbury Adams Park 10,516 High Wycombe Newcastle Falcons Orion Kingston Park 10,200 Newcastle upon Tyne Northampton Saints BURRDA Franklin's Gardens 13,591 Northampton Sale Sharks Cotton Traders Edgeley Park 10,852 Stockport, Greater Manchester Saracens Nike Vicarage Road 19,920 Watford Worcester Warriors Cotton Traders Sixways Stadium 12,068 Worcester

Pre-season The 2011 edition of the Premiership Rugby Sevens Series began on 15 July 2011 at The Recreation Ground, continued on 22 July at Franklin's Gardens and 29 July at Edgeley Park. This was the first opportunity of the season for any of the teams competing in the Premiership to win a trophy. The finals were held on 5 August 2011 at The Stoop and the Series was won by Newcastle Falcons.

Table

Regular season

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

Round 19

Round 20

Round 21

Round 22

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 26 May 2012.

Bracket

Semi-finals

FB 15 Mike BrownRW 14 Tom WilliamsOC 13 George LoweIC 12 Jordan Turner-HallLW 11 Sam SmithFH 10 Nick EvansSH 9 Karl DicksonN8 8 Nick EasterOF 7 Chris Robshaw (c)BF 6 Maurie Fa'asavaluRL 5 George RobsonLL 4 Ollie KohnTP 3 James JohnstonHK 2 Joe GrayLP 1 Joe MarlerReplacements:HK 16 Rob BuchananPR 17 Mark LambertPR 18 Will CollierLK 19 Tomás VallejosN8 20 Tom GuestSH 21 Richard BoltFH 22 Rory CleggCE 23 Matt HopperCoach: Conor O'Shea FB 15 Ben FodenRW 14 Chris AshtonOC 13 George PisiIC 12 James DowneyLW 11 Paul DigginFH 10 Ryan LambSH 9 Lee Dickson (c)N8 8 Roger WilsonOF 7 Phil DowsonBF 6 James CraigRL 5 Christian DayLL 4 Mark SorensonTP 3 Brian MujatiHK 2 Andy LongLP 1 Soane TongaʻuihaReplacements:HK 16 Ross McMillanPR 17 Alex WallerPR 18 Paul Doran-JonesFL 19 Ben NutleyFL 20 Teimana HarrisonSH 21 Martin RobertsFH 22 Stephen MylerCE 23 Tom MayCoach: Jim Mallinder

FB 15 Geordan Murphy (c)RW 14 Horacio AgullaOC 13 Manu TuilagiIC 12 Anthony AllenLW 11 Alesana TuilagiFH 10 George FordSH 9 Ben YoungsN8 8 Thomas WaldromOF 7 Julian SalviBF 6 Steve MafiRL 5 Geoff ParlingLL 4 George SkivingtonTP 3 Dan ColeHK 2 George ChuterLP 1 Marcos AyerzaReplacements:HK 16 Tom YoungsPR 17 Logovi'i MulipolaPR 18 Martin CastrogiovanniLK 19 Graham KitchenerFL 20 Craig NewbySH 21 Sam HarrisonFH 22 Billy TwelvetreesWG 23 Scott HamiltonCoach: Richard Cockerill FB 15 Alex GoodeRW 14 David StrettleOC 13 Owen FarrellIC 12 Brad BarrittLW 11 Chris WylesFH 10 Charlie HodgsonSH 9 Neil de KockN8 8 Ernst JoubertOF 7 Will FraserBF 6 Jackson WrayRL 5 Mouritz BothaLL 4 Steve Borthwick (c)TP 3 Matt StevensHK 2 Schalk BritsLP 1 Rhys GillReplacements:HK 16 Jamie GeorgePR 17 John SmitPR 18 Carlos NietoLK 19 Hugh VyvyanLK 20 George KruisSH 21 Richard WigglesworthCE 22 Adam PowellWG 23 James ShortCoach: Mark McCall

Final

FB 15 Mike BrownRW 14 Tom WilliamsOC 13 George LoweIC 12 Jordan Turner-HallLW 11 Ugo MonyeFH 10 Nick Evans SH 9 Danny CareN8 8 Nick EasterOF 7 Chris Robshaw (c)BF 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu RL 5 George RobsonLL 4 Ollie KohnTP 3 James JohnstonHK 2 Joe GrayLP 1 Joe MarlerReplacements:HK 16 Rob BuchananPR 17 Mark LambertPR 18 Will CollierLK 19 Tomás VallejosN8 20 Tom Guest SH 21 Karl DicksonFH 22 Rory Clegg CE 23 Matt HopperCoach: Conor O'Shea FB 15 Geordan Murphy (c)RW 14 Horacio Agulla OC 13 Manu TuilagiIC 12 Anthony AllenLW 11 Alesana TuilagiFH 10 George Ford SH 9 Ben YoungsN8 8 Thomas Waldrom 38OF 7 Julian SalviBF 6 Steve MafiRL 5 Geoff ParlingLL 4 George Skivington TP 3 Dan Cole HK 2 George Chuter LP 1 Marcos Ayerza Replacements:HK 16 Tom Youngs PR 17 Logovi'i Mulipola PR 18 Martin Castrogiovanni LK 19 Graham Kitchener FL 20 Craig NewbySH 21 Sam HarrisonFH 22 Billy Twelvetrees WG 23 Scott Hamilton Coach: Richard Cockerill

Leading scorers Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Most points Source: Rank Player ClubPoints 1 Tom Homer London Irish 278 2 Nick Evans Harlequins 266 3 Nick Macleod Sale Sharks 231 4 Jimmy Gopperth Newcastle Falcons 221 5 Ignacio Mieres Exeter Chiefs 211 6 Toby Flood Leicester Tigers 199 7 Owen Farrell Saracens 195 8 Freddie Burns Gloucester 193 9 Ryan Lamb Northampton Saints 184 10 Nicky Robinson London Wasps 162

Most tries Source: Rank Player ClubTries 1 Rob Miller Sale Sharks 10 2 Christian Wade London Wasps 9 3 Alesana Tuilagi Leicester Tigers 8 4 Mike Brown Harlequins 7 Miles Benjamin Worcester Warriors Charlie Sharples Gloucester 7 10 players tied 6

References

External links 2011–12 English Premiership Full Results