The Offside Line Podcast

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.

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.

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!

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?

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 hello@kubenet.net to learn more.

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’s Prem breakthrough and World Rugby law changes.This week we’re sponsored by Sterling Sinclair Group.As the undisputed masters of the Scottish self-storage and removals industry, the Sterling Sinclair Group delivers a complete one-stop shop experience across the nation. Through their strategic facilities – Perth Self Store, Edinburgh Self Store, and Stirling Self Storage – they provide secure, flexible space for every need.This expertise is seamlessly supported by Sterling Sinclair's premier fleet of 19 specialist vehicles, ensuring professional packing, removal, and shipping services. Furthermore, their Hiab Container Scotland division completes their comprehensive service by expertly selling and moving shipping containers throughout Scotland. Find all the details at sterlingsinclairremovals.co.uk which includes their storage options.

Bob McKillop - head coach of Stirling County and the Edinburgh District team this season - joins the usual suspects to chew over the season so far at the top end of the club game and to look ahead the Inter District Championship which will run over consecutive weekends in November this year.

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 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 hello@kubenet.net to learn more.

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 shy of two years.Elsewhere, Ayr and GHA will each look to exorcise the demons of last weekend's defeats when they meet at Millbrae, while still winless Glasgow Hawks face a tough trip to the Borders to take on Kelso at Poynder Park, and Edinburgh Accies welcome Melrose to Raeburn Place.The Hawick versus Currie Chieftains game has been postponed as a mark of respect following the new earlier this week that Currie stalwart Ally Donaldson had passed away following a short illness.