The Offside Line Podcast

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

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!

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. 

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.