Italian rugby officials have revealed that Brendan Venter’s appointment as defence coach of South Africa is not permanent.

It was announced on Sunday that Venter had joined the Boks as their new defence and exits coach for the training camps ahead of the June Tests.

Head coach Allister Coetzee could not confirm or deny whether the appointment was permanent at the time.

However, it has now been confirmed that his appointment is only temporary and that while he won’t be helping the Azzurri for the June Tests, he will return for the November Tests.

“Brendan is not a full-time coach and it was already agreed he wasn’t going to attend Italy’s summer tour before the SA Rugby announcement was made,” Italian rugby’s media officer Andre Cimbrico confirmed to Sport24 on Tuesday.

“He will be back working for FIR (Italian Rugby Union) ahead of November’s internationals until the end of his stint, in November 2019 when the World Cup ends.”

Coetzee will be hoping his decision to appoint the 47-year-old does not backfire as Italy, with Venter as their defence consultant, beat South Africa for the first time ever last November in Florence.