Temporary.

South Africa boss Rassie Erasmus has announced he will step down as head coach of the Springboks following the 2019 Rugby World Cup to focus on his role as Director of Rugby.

Erasmus left his role with Munster at the end of 2017, signing a deal with the South Africa Rugby Union (SARU) as their new Director of Rugby until 2023.

But when Allister Cortzee was sacked last February, Erasmus took on the role of head coach of the national side, transforming them in the last few months with some excellent results.

”I’m only head coach until the World Cup next year,” Erasmus told South Africa television

“The moment I am finished with this [head coach role] and for the next six months, I will be involved with [the other SA Rugby structures] a lot.”

Ersmaus revealed that he agreed to take the national job because he felt it wouldn’t have been fair to appoint an outsider to prepare the team for the Rugby World Cup in Japan.

“For somebody from the outside to all of a sudden have just 18 Test matches to prepare the team for the World Cup, I didn’t think that would be fair to that coach,” he added.

“It would have been a ‘suicide job’. And for myself, who’s been in the position before [as director], it made sense when they asked me.”