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The Offside Line Podcast: The First for Scottish Rugby
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The Offside Line Podcast: The First for Scottish Rugby

Author: David Barnes & Peter Burns

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© David Barnes & Peter Burns

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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.


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118 Episodes
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Clubhouse: Big hits, bad tips and a broken jaw

Clubhouse: Big hits, bad tips and a broken jaw

2026-10-2947:02

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 was close but no cigar for Glasgow Hawks again last weekend, this time away to city rivals GHA, but they face an even bigger challenge when an in-form Heriot's pitch up at Balgray this weekend.Meanwhile, fourth-placed Currie Chieftains will look to bounce back from last weekend's thumping defeat to Ayr when they host a GHA side looking to build some momentum and force their way into the play-off race.Kelso are on a high after knocking Melrose off top spot last weekend, but will be without influential backs Dwain Patterson and Archie Barbour when they head to Myreside to take on Watsonians.Plus, there's a look ahead to a potentially pivotal weekend across National One and National Two, with some intriguing top-of-the-table clashes on the cards. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A Leatherbarrow from left field – Scotland squad reaction

A Leatherbarrow from left field – Scotland squad reaction

2026-10-2627:06

Barney and Burnsy are joined by friends of the show Mark Palmer of The Times and extraordinaire Craig Watson to chew over and digest Gregor Townsend's Scotland training squad selection for next month's Nations Championship Autumn Series, which will see New Zealand, Australia and Japan visit Murrayfield on consecutive weekends, followed by finals weekend in London on 27th-29th November. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Clubhouse: Is it moving weekend in the Arnold Clark Premiership?

Clubhouse: Is it moving weekend in the Arnold Clark Premiership?

2026-10-2245:44

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.Hawks will be looking to build on the promising performance when they head across the city to take on a GHA team who need to start winning soon or let their play-off hopes go.Edinburgh Accies will also be encouraged by their performance at Myreside last week when they head to Goldenacre to take on Heriot's.And top of the league Melrose head to Poynder Park for a match against a Kelso team talking down their chances ... but Stuart isn't buying that!The other top flight game of the weekend sees Watsonians head south to face Hawick.If you enjoy listening to us talk about Scottish rugby, you’ll find much more of it written up on our website, theoffsideline.com. That’s where our reporters cover the game at every level: Scotland, Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh, the Arnold Clark Premiership, men’s and women’s, and the club and age-grade game too.Visit us here to check out the subscription options today! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Road trips, rugby's complicated rules and Scotland squad selections

Road trips, rugby's complicated rules and Scotland squad selections

2026-10-1939:36

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, Glasgow Warriors played some scintillating rugby to get their Champions Cup campaign off to a flyer against Sale Sharks at the CorpAcq Stadium on Saturday afternoon with the boys celebrating the excellence of wingers Jamie Dobie and Kyle Steyn in particular.With several potentially key players racing to be fit in time for Scotland's Autumn Nations Championship campaign, national team head coach Gregor Townsend has pushed back his training squad announcement from Tuesday of this week (20th October) to next Monday (26th October). Who will make the cut? And who will be unlucky if they miss out? Could Dave Cherry be involved? Would the up and coming Jake Dalziel benefit from being involved or would his development be better served by pulling him out of the fast lane to let him spend some time getting used to the pro game at Newcastle Red Bulls next month? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Clubhouse: Back from the break, straight into the breach

Clubhouse: Back from the break, straight into the breach

2026-10-1541:17

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 between Watsonians and Edinburgh Accies.Two teams with play-off aspirations but struggling for consistency this season meet at Goldenacre, when Heriot's host GHA.Meanwhile, a highly charged afternoon is on the cards at Malleny Park, when Currie Chieftains will look to pay tribute to club legend Ally Donaldson the day after his funeral in the way he would have appreciated most when they take on Kelso.The guys also run through National One and National Two with Stirling County and Highland, respectively, the teams to beat.This episode is sponsored by KubeNet - a multi-award winning technology solutions provider based in Glasgow.It's Cyber Security Awareness Month, making it the perfect time to take stock of your organisation's cyber defences. Championship-winning teams know success starts with a strong defence, and resilient businesses are no different. Our sponsors KubeNet provide managed IT services, cyber security solutions and proactive support to help keep your organisation protected against evolving threats. Don't wait until you've conceded a costly cyber attack. Get ahead of the game and strengthen your defence today. You can contact KubeNet at [email protected] to learn more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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