And then there were eight. Like victims in an Agatha Christie thriller, half the cast list of the United Rugby Championship has been dispatched. There will be further casualties over the next three weekends as the survivors are whittled down via a play-off schedule which begins with Friday’s first quarter-final, between Glasgow Warriors and the Stormers, and continues on Saturday with the Bulls v Edinburgh, Leinster v Scarlets and the Sharks v Munster. Glasgow were the last club standing a year ago, victors over the Bulls in a dramatic final in Pretoria. It was a seismic moment, one which showcased the Warriors squad’s abilities and courage in equal measure under the totemic leadership of Franco Smith. It was a real team effort but several Glasgow players touched new heights across the play-offs which, like this year, began with a home quarter-final against the Stormers, then continued with a semi-final win over Munster in Limerick followed by the remarkable triumph at Loftus Versfeld. Zander Fagerson was a titan in the scrum, playing the full 80 minutes in all three knockout ties; Tom Jordan was equally effective in the backline but it was Sione Tuipulotu who added the extra pizzazz, the dynamism, personality and sheer attacking brilliance to elevate Glasgow. It doesn’t take Hercule Poirot to work out that the Warriors have missed Tuipulotu. The all-action centre has been injured: sidelined since mid-January after ripping a pectoral muscle in training. If anything, Tuipulotu’s form had been even better this season, both for club and country, and he had been set to lead Scotland into the Six Nations. As things turned out, he missed the entire championship but happily he has recovered and made his comeback from Glasgow a fortnight ago, playing the first half of their narrow loss to Leinster in Dublin. A small step, perhaps, but not an insignificant one. “I think Sione's return for 40 minutes against Leinster was massive for the club,” said Chris Paterson, Scotland's all-time record points scorer, who will be on punditry duties for Premier Sports at Scotstoun. “I thought he was outstanding. His influence on others, let alone his own performance after being out for so long, was brilliant. “I think his infectious personality and his standards make a difference. And I also think, technically against a team like Stormers, who traditionally want to come really hard at you in defence, his ability to play the late pass at the line or cut through the line and carry, I think will really suit him. So I think he'll be crucial. It's really good to have him back.” Tuipulotu will go into battle without his side-kick, Huw Jones, who has been ruled out by the persistent Achilles tendon problem that has been troubling him since the Six Nations but Stafford McDowall is a more than adequate replacement. When the sides met at this stage last year, it was something of a slow burn. There were no tries until the 58th minute when Ben Loader scored for the Stormers. It galvanised the hosts and Glasgow touched down three times in the final quarter, through Sebastian Cancelliere, Henco Venter and Ross Thompson, to win 27-10. It was a difficult evening for Manie Libbok. The lavishly gifted South Africa fly-half had a horrible night in front of the posts, missing everything. He is on the bench tonight, with fellow Springbok Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu preferred as the starting 10. “I do think it'll be open because of the nature of the two teams,” said Paterson. “It's the same quarter-final as last year and that was a disappointing game. It was wet, it was windy and it was in the balance. I think there were three points in it until about the last 15 minutes. “Manie missed four kicks I think, consecutively. I was standing at the side of the pitch watching him in the warm-up and he was really struggling because of the wind. And Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu seemed to be hitting everything. “Not to get too technical, but Manie Libbok's tee was really high. The ball sits right up and he kicks underneath and it goes really high. I don't think there was much wrong with his technique and I just think it just wasn't suited to the wind whistling through Scotstoun. “For as much as it hindered Stormers, it actually helped Glasgow because it meant they could stay ahead. And then of course Glasgow ramped it up the last 15 minutes and finished the game. “I don't know what the conditions are going to be like tomorrow but if I was in the Stormers' camp I'd be thinking, ‘we let ourselves down last year, let's make the difference now’, which will focus the mind. And Glasgow have to be aware of that.” Winning the title last year has raised expectations for Smith’s side who have struggled in recent weeks. Injuries took their toll and they slipped from second to fourth in the URC standings. It was enough to secure a home quarter-final but they go into the tie still without some key personnel. Jack Dempsey, the Fagerson brothers and Jones are all missing but they are fortified by the return of No 8 Venter from suspension and full-back Josh McKay who has recovered from an ankle infection. There are also recalls for half-backs George Horne and Jordan and lock Scott Cummings, and a first start of the season for Murphy Walker at tighthead after a wretched time with injuries. Tuipulotu remains Glasgow’s game-breaker, however, a point not lost on Stormers coach John Dobson. “We know the threat Tuipulotu poses,” said Dobson. “He was really good against us at Stellenbosch, which was a game we deserved to lose. He is their game-maker, their talisman and we have to be better at defending him than we were last time.” Chris Paterson is part of the Premier Sports team showing all four BKT United Rugby Championship quarter-finals this weekend as the UK home of URC rugby with every game live. Chris joins Ross Harries, Thinus Delport, Ryan Wilson, Andy Goode, Rory Hamilton and Connie McLaughlin for all the action from Scotstoun on Friday from 7pm on Premier Sports 1. Premier Sports now shows more than 400 live rugby games every season including URC, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, Japan League One and MLR with a dedicated 24/7 Premier Sports Rugby Channel. To join in visit www.premiersports.com.