The Offside Line Podcast: The First for Scottish Rugby

This week Barney and Burnsy have an exclusive sit down with Pierre Schoeman to discuss Edinburgh’s recent turnaround in fortunes, his pride in playing for the club and the city and his ambitions with the Lions. They also talk to Emily Harrower from Scottish Building Society about their community give-back programme, analyse Edinburgh and Glasgow’s performances in the URC, Scotland Women’s game against England in the Six Nations, the Scotland U18 teams’ performances, all the action from Silver Saturday at Murrayfield, the Ayr vs Currie Premiership play-off match, speculation around Steve Tandy taking over at Wales and Johnny Sexton’s appointment as an assistant coach with the Lions. For more information on Scottish Building Society’s programmes (including g Tackle Maths), check out their social media channels and the Edinburgh Rugby website:https://edinburghrugby.org/community/take-part-in-tackle-maths/https://www.scottishbs.co.uk/news-media/we-re-helping-school-pupils-across-scotland-tackle-maths Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s episode is recorded live at the Hive Stadium, so please accept out apologies for the background noise. We were covering a brilliant event for Edinburgh and the Scottish Building Society, but you’ll have to wait until next week to hear all those bits and pieces. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this week’s show.This week Barney and Burnsy delve into the horror show that was Glasgow’s Champions Cup quarter-final defeat in Dublin, Edinburgh’s harum-scarum victory over the Bulls in the Challenge Cup, Scotland’s disappointing loss to Italy in the Women’s Six Nations and they preview Silver Saturday and the second Premiership play-off semi-final. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barney and Burnsy get the show back on the road after a week’s break (Burnsy is still picking himself off the floor after a vets’ tour to northern Italy) to discuss Glasgow and Edinburgh’s success in thelast-16 of the Champions and Challenge Cups, preview their quarter-final fixtures this weekend. They also dive into the third round of the Women’s Six Nations and discuss the Premiership at length, challenging listeners to come up with a new season structure for domestic Scottish club rugby – please email your thoughts on this to [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barney and Burnsy dive into their overall reflections on the men’s Six Nations then buoy themselves with the action from the women’s edition, give their thoughts on Gregor Townsend’s future, discuss all things URC and the Men’s Premiership and look back on 100 years at Murrayfield. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barney, Mark Palmer and Craig Watson call in from the pitch at the Stade de France to preview the final game of the 2025 Six Nations. Can Scotland pull off a miracle? And where is the title going? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re delighted to be joined by the great Duncan Hodge, who among many other playing and coaching accolades, won 26 caps at fly-half for Scotland and now runs Accelerate Rugby: High performance training. You can find out more at www.acceleraterugby.comThe boys get stuck into analysing Scotland’s Six Nations victory over Wales – what was good, what was bad and where it all nearly went horribly wrong – and look forward to the final round showdown with France in Paris. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barney and Burnsy preview this weekend’s Six Nations matches with a focus on Scotland hosting Wales and review the latest action in the URC and the Men’s Premiership. What do you make of their predictions? Soothsayers or stabbing around wildly in the dark? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barney and Burnsy get together to pick over the bones of Scotland's match at Twickenham, chat Wales-Ireland, Italy-France, the Under-20s, the Prem and the URC. Enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While Burnsy is stuck in Edinburgh, Barney is ensconced at Twickenham with Mark Palmer and Craig Watson and all four come together to preview the 2025 Calcutta Cup and examine the Wales-Ireland and Italy-France matches.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barney and Burnsy emerge from their deep funk to dissect the horrors of Scotland’s Six Nations match against Ireland, pick over the bones of the Under 20s result and look ahead to Twickenham. They also analyse Italy’s win against Wales (and the news that Warren Gatland has stepped down as Wales head coach), England’s victory over a calamitous France, the latest round of the Celtic Challenge and the Men’s Premiership and look ahead to this weekend’s fixtures. For full match coverage and analysis, check out www.theoffsideline.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barney and Burnsy get into the nitty gritty of Scotland’s opening win of the Six Nations, discuss Wales-France, Ireland-England and the threats that Ireland are going to bring in round two. They also touch on the Celtic Challenge, the men’s Premiership and the Under-20s Six Nations with an exclusive interview with outside centre Kerr Yule. Finally, Barney dials in with Richie Vernon and Chris Fusaro as they make their way to Stranraer to begin a 700-mile cycle aiding funds for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. You can find out more (and donate) here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/washed-up-warriors-for-doddie-2025?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaYYaKYuGrgBpqrbFNObJo2iAHccUM9z-9YK13-M9cEdxqrAJnm7MGzxZvw_aem_ljXUeMY0SeB8M7ekl0_iqA Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barney and Burnsy get into the nitty gritty ahead of Scotland’s opening round clash of the 2025 Six Nations with Italy at Murrayfield. We also hear from the new CEO of Scottish Rugby, Alex Williamson, and cast an eye over the other fixtures coming our way this weekend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Barney and Burnsy dive into Saturday’s Premiership matches, the Celtic Challenge and review two rounds of Champions Cup and Challenge Cup action. Barney tells us all about his trip to Rome for the Six Nations launch and then the conversation turns to Scotland’s pre-tournament injury woes, where the Pigeon of Misfortune sh*ts on the squad as Sione Tuipulotu, Scott Cummings and Dylan Richardson are ruled out before a ball has been kicked. Will these injuries (plus others, such as Kyle Steyn’s) derail Scotland’s Six Nations chances? We wait and see . . . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Barney and Burnsy head down to the Edinburgh HQ at Murrayfield for an exclusive sit down with the club’s managing director Doug Struth. They talk past, present and future in the men and women’s teams and discuss the club’s far-reaching ambitions. A massive thank you to Doug and Stuart Rutherford for this interview.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year one and all! It’s the mega review of 2024 and our preview of 2025. Barney and Burnsy are joined by special guests Mark Palmer from The Times and Sunday Times and Craig Watson, sports photography supremo, to talk through their 2024 highlights and their predictions for 2025. Sit back and enjoy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Barney and Burnsy dive into an 1872 Cup preview with an exclusive interview with Glasgow’s Stafford McDowall. We also chat to new Glasgow signing Lisa Martin ahead of the women’s Edinburgh-Glasgow derby, which opens the 2024/25 Celtic Challenge campaign.There is also a full run-down on the Youth Cup finals, the Women’s Premiership Grand Final, the latest round of the Men’s Premiership, the two age-grade internationals and review the weekend’s Champions Cup and Challenge Cup action. The Offside Line is brought to you in association with Polaris Publishing Ltd. We’re just over a week out from Christmas and there’s still time to get the perfect present for the Scottish rugby fan in your life. This is Murrayfield is the critically acclaimed history of the old ground, published ahead of its centenary next year, it tells the story in 100 key games. And even though I have to shelve all dignity when saying this: it’s funny, insightful and packed full of glorious recollections from players on both sides of matches features and features some gorgeous photography. Buy it now from www.polarispublishing.comWe are also brought to you by Premier Sports, the official broadcaster of the URC, the Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup and the French Top14. You can subscribe now for £10.99 per month on www.premiersports.com – if you can’t make it along to Hampden on Sunday or to Murrayfield on 28 December, you can catch all the action on Premier Sports. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this bumper episode, Barney and Burnsy welcome special guest Matt Currie to the pod as he signs a new two-year deal at Edinburgh. They also speak to Heriot’s men’s coach Bob McKillop and we hear from the SRU’s new performance director David Nucifora. There is, of course, the usual run-down on domestic rugby with a look back at the Schools Cup finals day, preview the Youth Cup Finals coming up on Sunday, delve into the action in the Men and Women’s Premierships, and chat Champions Cup and Challenge Cup rugby, the Celtic Challenge and Emerging Scotland.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Barney and Burnsy head to the Clubhouse restaurant in Glasgow for an exclusive sit-down with GHA’s head coach Calum Forrester before swinging over to Scotstoun for a chat with Glasgow and Scotland scrum-half/ wing Jamie Dobie. We discuss all things domestic rugby in the men and women’s Premierships and GHA’s campaign in Division One, review Edinburgh and Glasgow’s matches against Bennetton and the Scarlets, and preview a big weekend of European rugby.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s show, Barney and Burnsy review Scotland’s Autumn Nations Series performances, discuss Scotland A vs Chile and delve in the SRU’s AGM.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to part two of this week’s pod. Barney sits down with Scotland A coach Pete Horne to discuss Saturday’s game with Chile, while Burnsy has an exclusive interview with Wallaby legend George Gregan ahead of Scotland’s match against Australia on Sunday. The boys also discuss the Scottish Men’s Premiership matches this weekend and make their predictions for each game of the Autumn Nations Series. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Barney and Burnsy have such a mega rant about various off-field matters (the rumours surrounding a new pro rugby league, the SRU’s most recent accounts, the appointment of Brett Robinson as the new chair of World Rugby) as well as reviewing the Women’s Premiership and all the action from the Autumn Nations Series, that we had to split the pod in two. We hope you enjoy part I.Thursday’s part episode will include an exclusive interview with Wallaby legend George Gregan as part of our preview for Scotland v Australia, and we’ll also hear from Pete Horne ahead of Scotland A’s match with Chile. Tune in then! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Offside Line State of the Nation pod!The aim of the series is to explore the unique cultures, challenges, and triumphs that have shaped the sport in over a dozen countries, from reigning world champions South Africa to the rising nations of Georgia and Portugal and the potentially dominant USA, and all points in between.Each episode dives deep into a different nation’s rugby scene, uncovering its rich history, standout players, and the grassroots efforts that bring communities together – all with the help of top local journalists and broadcasters.Whether you’re a die-hard fan or new to the game, you’ll discover fresh perspectives and insights into how rugby unites and transforms in ways you’d never expect and what the future holds for each nation. Join us and see how rugby connects us all – one country at a time.In this pilot episode, we talk to Francisco Isaac, a freelance rugby journalist from Portugal who has worked tirelessly to promote tier-two rugby in print and online. You can follow him on Twitter/ X handle @francisaac87, which we highly recommend.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s a bumper episode! Sit back and relax while Barney and Burnsy take you through all the weekend’s action, from the Men and Women’s Premierships and an extended interview with Ayr’s Grant Anderson, to Scotland’s mighty effort against the back-to-back world champion Springboks, the England-Australia classic, the dud in Dublin and the Flying Fijians heaping more misery of Warren Gatland’s Wales. Enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Barney and Burnsy get into the meat of the first two Autumn Nations Tests that saw Scotland take on Fiji, while England faced New Zealand. They also look at the various permutations that Gregor Townsend might look to unleash against the Springboks on Sunday.There is also a special segment with Jamie Lindsay from Breadalbane Finance and the boys dive into domestic action in the Arnold Clark Women’s Premiership. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barney and Burnsy catch up for a quick bonus pod to discuss Gregor Townsend’s selection for the Scotland-Fiji game at Murrayfield, which kicks off the 2024 Autumn Nations campaign and make some predictions for the weekend’s action.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barney and Burnsy go through all the weekend's action in the Men and Women's Premiership and the URC and are joined by special guest Scott Wright, the former Scotland 7s great and current coach of Melrose. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barney and Burnsy delve into Gregor Townsend's 2024 Autumn Internationals squad - and we hear from the man himself. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Barney and Burnsy are joined by George Horne from Glasgow’s base in Stellenbosch to review the Warriors’ game against the Sharks, preview their match against the Stormers and chat about the 1872 Cup game at Hampden (tickets for which go on sale on Friday 25 October). They also do a deep-dive into Selkirk vs Heriot’s, discuss all things Men and Women’s Premiership, then rove the rugby landscape from the Premiership to the Top 14 and the URC (with special focus on Edinburgh’s victory over Cardiff), and discuss the new law variations being introduced for the Autumn Nations Series. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join the guys as they dissect a cracking weekend of rugby in the URC, WXV2, the Men and Women’s Premierships and chat to Alan Lorimer for our first section on schools rugby - and examine whether Edinburgh's result against the Stormers is a turning point for the team or a dead cat bounce. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the boys delve into Glasgow’s announcement that they are going to hold their leg of the 1872 Cup at Hampden Park, the Glasgow triumph on the field in Cardiff, Scotland Women rolling on in South Africa with their victory over Japan and look at some cracking matches in the men and women’s Premierships. Oh, and they also conduct a thorough post-mortum of Edinburgh’s dire effort on the High Veldt against the Lions. With special guest slots from Al Kellock and Brenden Nel.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The boys have a chat about all things domestic Scottish rugby, Scotland Women at WXV2, the Rugby Championship and Scots abroad before getting into the meat of the episode - an in-depth interview with Dan Biggar and Ross Harries about their new collaboration The Biggar Picture: My Life in Rugby.This fascinating and often touching read lifts the lid on Dan's life and career. It is available from Amazon, Waterstones and WHSmith as well as from independent bookshops on https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/my-story-dan-biggar/7579261?ean=9781035028054 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Barney and Burnsy chat about John Jeffrey’s acrimonious withdrawal from the campaign to become the head of World Rugby alongside special guest Mark Palmer from The Times; we hear from Gregor Townsend at the launch of a new charity, GREAT, and his fundraising trip to Japan for 40tude; we chat domestic rugby, looking at the opening round of the URC and another thrilling weekend in the Rugby Championship.Gregor’s trip to Japan aims to raise money to establish the Tom Smith Screening Fund, which will subsidise free screening for colon cancer for women and men aged 35-50 – named after the Scottish rugby legend who tragically died from colon (bowel) cancer in 2022. Gregor and his wife Claire and Tom’s widow Zoe will be part of a team taking on the Tom Smith Ginza Ridge Challenge, attempting to summit ‘4 peaks in 4 days for 40tude’ on the Ginza Ridge in the Northern Japanese Alps.If you would like to donate to this important cause and/or to GREAT, there are links below:http://www.justgiving.com/page/gregor-townsend-1724406162792www.greatrugby.scot Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barney has to hold his hands up for throwing Musselburgh head coach Derek O’Riordan under the bus before their game against Ayr at the weekend. Stuart Bathgate makes a return to the pod to discuss Scotland Women’s tremendous win over Fiji and Edinburgh’s pre-season victory over Gloucester. And the boys have a deep dive into the mooted creation of either a British and Irish league or a revamped Anglo-Welsh league. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s an emergency pod! Barney and Burnsy cancel all their plans to bring you news of Scottish Rugby’s breaking announcement that Alex Williamson is going to be new Chief Executive, finally plugging the hole left by Mark Dodson’s departure.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Barney and Burnsy chat about Scotland Women’s thumping victory over Wales, another epic between South Africa and New Zealand, the Argentine rope-a-dope pulled against Australia, the latest goings on at Edinburgh and Glasgow and a round-up of the weekend’s action in the Arnold Clark Men and Women’s Premierships. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Barney and Burnsy are joined by Stuart Bathgate as they dive into the latest action in the Arnold Clark Men and Women’s Premierships, discuss the Rugby Championship, Scotland Women versus Wales, Glasgow’s bomb squad getting a doing by Zebre and reveal a potential comeback story that would make a movie if it came to fruition . . . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this special Big Interview bonus pod, we head to Murrayfield for a chat with Matt Scott. The Scotland centre has recently re-joined Edinburgh for his third stint at the club after four seasons at Leicester Tigers, where he was a key part of the Steve Borthwick revolution that took the most storied club in England from the doldrums to Premiership champions. We talk about his club career at Currie, his rise into professional rugby, his time with Edinburgh, Gloucester, Leicester and Scotland and his life beyond the grass. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode David and Pete discuss the SRU’s appointment of David Nucifora, look at Leon MacDonald’s departure from the All Blacks, have a chat with the Daily Telegraph’s Chief Rugby Correspondent, Gavin Mairs, about Felix Jones’s departure from England, review the first round of the Arnold Clark Women’s Premiership and look ahead to the first weekend of fixtures in the Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership. We hope you enjoy!Please like and subscribe, leave a review and tell your friends, family and clubmates about us. If you have any questions or comments, please email us at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Offside Line Podcast with David Barnes, editor of the Offside Line, and author Peter Burns. This episode is a little introduction to your hosts, sets out our plans for the show and previews the opening weekend of the Arnold Clark Women’s Premiership season with special guests Rachel Law from Watsonians and Izzy Desoindre from Cartha Queen’s Park. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.