Rugby Union: New Zealand scrum-half Piri Weepu will miss at least four weeks of Super Rugby for his Auckland Blues side as he recovers from a minor stroke, the team said yesterday. The 30-year-old had a scan on Monday after complaining of migraine-like symptoms dating back to the start of this month, and would need further tests to determine the cause of the stroke. “He’s getting the best possible care and advice and we are grateful this has been picked up by our medical experts, as often minor strokes remain undetected,” Blues head coach Sir John Kirwan said.

Golf: Construction work on the Olympic golf course for the 2016 Rio Games is behind schedule and a planned test event may not be possible, International Golf Federation president Peter Dawson has warned. Dawson, also the chief executive of golf’s overseer the Royal and Ancient, said that while he was impressed with the proposed coastal layout, progress was worryingly slow. “We are not satisfied,” Dawson told reporters in St Andrews. “I was down there just recently, and while the design of the course looks really good, the progress with the construction is not where we want it to be.”

Cycling: British Olympian Jess Varnish has given a warm welcome to Brian Cookson’s suggestion that track cycling could move to the Winter Olympics programme. Cookson, who was president of British Cycling before ousting Pat McQuaid from the UCI top job, suggested this week it would allow such sports to add more disciplines in the Olympics, and Varnish is convinced the switch would pay off. “I think it makes sense,” Varnish said. “Brian Cookson knows what he’s talking about, and if we can have more athletes and more cyclists in the Winter Olympics then that means more potential to get medals.”