Rugby-Australia lose men's sevens coach a year before Olympics

MELBOURNE, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Australia's medal hopes in rugby sevens at the Rio Olympics have suffered a blow with the shock resignation of men's head coach Geraint John. John, who was also the national director of the sevens programme, quit due to personal reasons and would return to Britain at the end of the month, the Australian Rugby Union said in a media release on Monday. Women's sevens coach Tim Walsh would take over as caretaker of the men's team pending a permanent replacement, the ARU added. The 53-year-old Welshman departs less than three months before Australia head into their Oceania qualifying tournament on Nov. 14-15 where they face stiff competition for the region's sole Olympic berth from Pacific rugby power Samoa. Australia finished fifth in the sevens world series, missing out on automatic qualification for the top four teams. Fiji, South Africa, New Zealand and Britain qualified through the world series, with Argentina, United States and France booking their Rio tickets through regional qualifiers. Brazil, as hosts, are also among the eight sides confirmed for the 12-team tournament. Australia's men won a bronze at last year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow under John and are expected to push for a medal at Rio with a number of their top Wallabies players from the 15-man game in line to boost their squad. (Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)