The 2012 Currie Cup First Division was contested from 30 June to 13 October 2012. The tournament (also known as the Absa Currie Cup First Division for sponsorship reasons) is the second tier of South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces.
Competition
Regular season and title playoffs
There were 8 participating teams in the 2012 Currie Cup First Division. These teams played each other twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away.
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored 4 or more tries in a game, as well as to teams losing a match by 7 points or less. Teams were ranked by points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).
The top 4 teams qualified for the title play-offs. In the semi-finals, the team that finished first had home advantage against the team that finished fourth, while the team that finished second had home advantage against the team that finished third. The winners of these semi-finals played each other in the final, at the home venue of the higher-placed team.
Promotion playoffs
The top team on the log will also qualify for the promotion/relegation play-offs. That team will play off against the team placed sixth in the 2012 Currie Cup Premier Division over two legs. The winner over these two ties (determined via team tables, with all Currie Cup ranking regulations in effect) will qualify for the 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division, while the losing team will qualify for the 2013 Currie Cup First Division.
Teams
Changes from 2011
and were relegated to the First Division.
Team Listing
Table
Fixtures and results
All times are South African (GMT+2).
Regular season
Round one
Round two
Round three
Round four
Round Five
Round Six
Round Seven
Round Eight
Round Nine
Round Ten
Round Eleven
Round Twelve
Round Thirteen
Round Fourteen
Title Play-Off Games
Semi-finals
Final
Players
Player Statistics
Leading try scorers
{ | class="wikitable" |- !colspan=4 | Top 10 try scorers |- !Pos !Name !Team !Tries |- style="background:#d0ffd0;" | align=center | 1 || Allister Kettledas || || align=center | 14 |- | align=center | 2 || Luke Watson || || align=center | 12 |- | align=center | 3 || JW Jonker || || align=center | 11 |- | rowspan=3 align=center | 4 || JW Bell || || align=center | 9 |- | Jaco Bouwer || || align=center | 9 |- | Cornell du Preez || || align=center | 9 |- | rowspan=3 align=center | 7 || Brendon April || || align=center | 8 |- | Johan Herbst || || align=center | 8 |- | Elric van Vuuren || || align=center | 8 |- | rowspan=6 align=center | 10 || Alshaun Bock || || align=center | 7 |- | Danie Dames || || align=center | 7 |- | Stompie de Wet || || align=center | 7 |- | Shane Hancke || || align=center | 7 |- | Franzel September || || align=center | 7 |- | Elgar Watts || || align=center | 7 |} Source: South African Rugby Union