User:The C of E/rfu

The 2012–13 RFU Championship will be the fourth season (of the professionalised format) of the RFU Championship, the second tier of the English domestic rugby union competitions, played between August 2012 and May 2013.

Team changes
This season will see either Newcastle Falcons or London Wasps enter the second tier of English rugby in it's current form for the first time following relegation from the English Premiership during the 2011-12 season, as well as Jersey based side, Jersey, who won promotion to the Championship from the National League 1 during the same season and will be competing in the Championship for the very first time after three consecutive promotions and will be the first non-English team to compete in the second tier of English rugby.

Esher RFC dropped out of the Championship after being relegated in the 2011-12 season with one other club being promoted after the 2011-12 Championship play-offs if they can meet the Rugby Football Union's Minimum Standards Criteria for promotion to the Premiership. If they cannot, there will be no promotion from or relegation to the Championship for this year.

The twelve clubs in the 2012-13 Championship will also participate in the 2012-13 edition of the British and Irish Cup along with clubs from Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

Structure
The Championship's structure has all teams playing each other on a home and away basis. After all the teams have played each other, the league splits with the top 8 teams playing each other in groups of 2 with the top 4 from the groups going into knockout home and away semi-final and final playoffs at the end of the season which determines promotion to the Premiership. The lower 4 teams play each other with the team that finished bottom of their group being relegated to National League 1.