The Offside Line Podcast: The First for Scottish Rugby
Welcome to the Offside Line Podcast with your hosts Peter Burns and David Barnes. In this weekly show we examine all aspects of Scottish rugby, from the grassroots level to the Test arena, and discuss the goings on in the wider global game – helped by a regular panel of special guests and featuring exclusive interviews. David Barnes has worked as a freelance rugby journalist since 2004 covering every level of the game in Scotland for publications including The Herald/Sunday Herald, The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The Scotsman/Scotland on Sunday/Evening News, The Daily Record, The Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday and The Sun. He established the Offside Line in 2016 to provide high-quality, independent and up-to-date coverage of all aspects of Scottish rugby. In 2005 he co-authored Jim Renwick’s autobiography, Centre of Excellence, and in 2008 was shortlisted for Rugby Book of the Year at the British Sports Book Awards for The Accies: The Cradle of Scottish Rugby. He is the co-author of the critically acclaimed Behind the Thistle: Playing Rugby for Scotland and Behind the Lions: Playing Rugby for the British & Irish Lions. Peter Burns is a William Hill Sportsbook of the Year shortlisted author and the managing director of Polaris Publishing Ltd. He has written eleven sports books, including Behind the Thistle: Playing Rugby for Scotland, This is Murrayfield: 100 Years of History in 100 Matches, Behind the Lions: Playing Rugby for the British & Irish Lions, This is Your Everest: The Lions, the Springboks and the Epic Tour of 1997, When Lions Roared: The Lions, the All Blacks and the Legendary Tour of 1971 and The Men in the Arena: England, Australia and the Battle for the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He is also the author of the forthcoming children's book series, Shadow Thieves. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Barney, Robin and Stuart catch up to look ahead to the final round of Arnold Clark Men's Premiership matches before the halfway-stage break for the Inter-District Championship.
Ayr are back on top but face a tough assignment away to second-placed Melrose this weekend, while third-bottom Hawick have a chance to put further daylight between themselves and the relegation zone when they head to second-bottom Edinburgh Accies.
It ...
Robin returns from a week off to jump right back into a fascinating weekend of Arnold Clark Premiership action.
Reigning champions Ayr got a fright last weekend against bottom of the table Glasgow Hawks and now face their closest challengers in recent seasons, Currie Chieftains, who are a team on the mission. It could be a class for the ages at Millbrae!
Meanwhile, it is derby day in Glasgow, Edinburgh and the Borders.
Haw...
Barney and Burnsy catch up to review last weekend's Arnold Clark Men's Premiership action, lament some horrifying score-lines in the Sarah Beaney Cup and reflect on Scotland Women extending their losing run to eight matches.
Edinburgh had a frustrating night against Toulon at Hive Stadium in round one of the Challenge Cup on Friday, so the boys discuss whether it is just a hiccup or a return to the bad old days?
Meanwhile, Gl...
After last weekend's welfare break, the Arnold Clark Men's Premiership returns.
With Robin missing in action, Iain Heard steps back into the breach to join Stuart and Barney for a look ahead at this weekend's fixtures, which includes a Borders derby between top of the table Melrose and Hawick, a west coast clash at Balgray between defending champions Ayr and still winless Glasgow Hawks, and a capital city showdown at Myreside b...
Hello Offside Liners and welcome to this week’s show. Barney and Burnsy get out of the studio to record a special interview with former Scotland U20s, Stirling County and Heriot’s second-row Adam Sinclair about his life and career, which has taken him from Bannockburn to South Africa, France and England (as well as the Scottish Premiership). They also review all the latest URC action, schoolboy rugby, Jake Dalziel&rsquo...
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Barney and Burnsy catch up to discuss the return of the Scotland Men's Sevens team this coming weekend, Edinburgh's gritty win over Stormers last Friday night and whether George Horne cost Glasgow Warriors a win over Ulster on Saturday evening.
There's also a revelation about how a missed deadline by Barney gave Burnsy his big break in the literary world!
This episode is sponsored by KubeNet - a multi-award winning technology...
Barney is back from his golfing jolly to join Stuart and Robin as they look ahead to the final round of matches before the Arnold Clark Men's Premiership 'welfare' break.
Game of the day looks like being at Myreside where Watsonians will look to bounce back from last weekend's agonising defeat at the Greenyards by getting the better of a Heriot's side on a high after becoming the first side to beat Ayr in a league match in just...
A short sharp pod to start the week with Barney and Burnsy catching up to celebrate two bonus-points wins on the road for the Scots teamson the opening weekend of the URC ... and four Irish defeats!
Meanwhile, how much should we read into Arnold Clark Men's Premiership champions Ayr suffering their first league defeat in just short of two years against Heriot's at Goldenacre?
Congratulations to Garioch whose perseverance in t...
Barney has gone golfing so Iain Heard - former referee turned pundit and champion of the club game - steps into the breach, and there's some big games in the Premiership to look forward to this coming weekend, including Ayr taking their long winning streak on the road to Goldenacre where Heriot's await in what looks like being game of the day.
Meanwhile Glasgow Hawks host Hawick at the other end of the table, there's a capital d...
With the URC kicking off this weekend, Barney and Burnsy popped into the Edinburgh Rugby offices at Murrayfield to catch up with the club's managing director, Doug Struth, for a wide-ranging chat. Including: David Nucifora's role in recruiting three Australian assistant coaches this summer, why Jamie Ritchie heading to Glasgow was a surprise but not a disaster and the importance of A team games.
There has been 60 percent turnove...
Some huge games on the menu this weekend with Heriots' trip to the Greenyards to take on Melrose in a clash of two of the form teams in the league perhaps match of the day, although the basement battle between Edinburgh Accies and Glasgow Hawks could also be a gripping encounter.
Barney, Stuart and Robin get together to look ahead at another exciting weekend of action in the top flight of men's club rugby in Scotland, and they a...
Burnsy is on a mini-tour of the UK this week but has found the time to catch up with Barney to digest last weekend's Arnold Clark Premiership action and to discuss the importance of Murrayfield showing a bit more love and respect for this top tier of the club game in Scotland as it needs to be an essential step in the performance pathway for the long term health of the game.
The boys are also joined by Stuart Bathgate to catch-u...
Unbeaten sides Currie Chieftains and Melrose meet at Malleny, Hawick head into the lions den to face Ayr at Millbrae, Kelso are missing their two co-captains for a tough trip to Goldenacre to take on Heriot's, GHA and Edinburgh Accies each hunt their first win of the season at Braidholm and the guys anticipate a tight clash at Balgray when Glasgow Hawks host Watsonians.
Meanwhile, National One is shaping up a real battle, with ...
Barney and Burnsy are joined by Eric Jones to discuss all the latest in the men and women’s Premierships, which included some major blow-outs on the scoreboard. They also examine Edinburgh and Glasgow’s pre-season games and preview a daunting WXV campaign awaiting Scotland.
This week we’re sponsored by Sterling Sinclair Group.
As the undisputed masters of the Scottish self-storage and removals industry, th...
Barney, Stuart Cameron and Robin Purdie reconvene to digest the first round of Arnold Clark Men's Premiership action last weekend, and to look ahead to round two, with match of the day likely to be Currie Chieftains and Heriot's at Malleny Park, with both sides coming off big wins last time out and keen to press their credentials as the side who can break Ayr dominance of the league in recent seasons.
There's also a humdinger of...
Hello Offside Liners and welcome to season 3! Barney and Burnsy get back on the horse after a restful summer and are fired up and ready to go. This week they discuss the first round of the Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership and chat with Eric Jones ahead of the opening round of the Arnold Clark Women’s Premiership this weekend.
This episode is supported by PhiiT Limited and their app, PitchsidePal. If you've ever played ...
As a fresh club season dawns, The Offside Line has launched its new weekly ‘Clubhouse’ podcast, landing every Thursday to digest the latest goings-on in the club game and look ahead to the weekend.
This week, Barney, Stuart Cameron and Robin Purdie get together for a whistle-stop tour of the comings and goings in the Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership ahead of round one of the 2026/27 campaign on Saturday.
It’s the final episode of season two! We delve into the U20s fifth-place play-off game with Wales, Scotland vs Fiji and a general examination of the Nations Championship. We hope you enjoy - and have a great summer!
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