CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

2012 Rugby Championship

wikimedia category

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 5, 2026
Entity authorityQ1739561 ↗
Source-derived summary

The 2012 Rugby Championship was the inaugural annual rugby union series between the national rugby union teams of New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Argentina. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as The Castle Rugby Championship in South Africa, The Investec Rugby Championship in New Zealand, The Castrol Edge Rugby Championship in Australia and The Personal Rugby Championship in Argentina.

The 2012 Rugby Championship kicked off on 18 August with New Zealand defeating Australia and finished on 6 October. Each team played the other twice on a home and away basis. The inaugural Championship was won by New Zealand, which was their 11th Southern Hemisphere title including the Tri Nations.

Standings

Fixtures

Round 1

Man of the Match

Israel Dagg (New Zealand)

Touch judges:

Nigel Owens (Wales)

Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)

Television match official:

Matt Goddard (Australia)

Man of the Match

Morné Steyn (South Africa)

Touch judges:

Jérôme Garcès (France)

John Lacey (Ireland)

Television match official:

Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)

Round 2

Man of the Match:

Sonny Bill Williams (New Zealand)

Touch judges:

Alain Rolland (Ireland)

Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)

Television match official:

Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Man of the Match

Rodrigo Roncero (Argentina)

Touch judges:

Jérôme Garcès (France)

John Lacey (Ireland)

Television match official:

Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)

Round 3

Man of the Match

Marcelo Bosch (Argentina)

Touch judges:

George Clancy (Ireland)

James Leckie (Australia)

Television match official:

Vinny Munro (New Zealand)

Man of the Match

Berrick Barnes (Australia)

Touch judges:

Wayne Barnes (England)

Glen Jackson (New Zealand)

Television match official:

Matt Goddard (Australia)

Round 4

Man of the Match:

Israel Dagg (New Zealand)

Touch judges:

Romain Poite (France)

James Leckie (Australia)

Television match official:

Vinny Munro (New Zealand)

Man of the Match:

Digby Ioane (Australia)

Touch judges:

Nigel Owens (Wales)

Glen Jackson (New Zealand)

Television match official:

Matt Goddard (Australia)

Round 5

Man of the Match:

Bryan Habana (South Africa)

Touch judges:

Romain Poite (France)

Greg Garner (England)

Television match official:

Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Man of the Match:

Kieran Read (New Zealand)

Touch judges:

Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Pascal Gaüzère (France)

Television match official:

Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)

Round 6

Man of the Match:

Kieran Read (New Zealand)

Touch judges:

Romain Poite (France)

Greg Garner (England)

Television match official:

Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Man of the Match:

Michael Hooper (Australia)

Touch judges:

Jaco Peyper (South Africa)

Pascal Gaüzère (France)

Television match official:

Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)

Warm up matches

On 4 August and 11 August, Argentina played two uncapped matches against a Stade Français team in Argentina.

Squads

Summary

Note: Ages are as of 18 August 2012 – the starting date of the tournament.

Argentina

Head coach: Santiago Phelan

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Australia

Head coach': Robbie Deans

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

New Zealand

Head coach: Steve Hansen

Caps Updated 24/06/2012

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “2012 Rugby Championship” as wikimedia category. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2012—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Rugby, Championship and wikimedia can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as wikimedia category. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1739561. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2012.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “2012 Rugby Championship”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow 2012 Rugby Championship primary sources, 2012 Rugby Championship archive and Rugby research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “2012 Rugby Championship”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “2012 Rugby Championship” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.