Australian sport's Cape Town curse has struck again with Test cricketer Andrew Symonds asked to leave a nightclub after a clash with South African captain Graeme Smith, a local newspaper said on Sunday.

Afrikaans newspaper Rapport ran a front-page headline "Hands off our captain" and detailed how Springbok rugby players Os du Randt and Ollie le Roux kept a watchful eye on the pair to make sure things calmed down on Saturday March 18.

The first Test had ended earlier that day in Cape Town, with Australia claiming victory by seven wickets.

Du Randt confirmed the report and Smith declined to comment, the newspaper said.

It also claimed Symonds was asked to leave by nightclub security staff.

A second headline below the main headline said: "Os, Ollie grab rude Aussie".

However, the story does not document any actual altercation between the two rugby giants and Symonds.

Du Rant and le Roux play for Super 14 team the Cheetahs, who are now en route to Australia and play the NSW Waratahs on Friday night.

An Australian team source said Symonds had voluntarily left the nightclub, called Hemisphere, after the clash. The source described the incident as nothing more than a minor argument.

A witness to the incident said Symonds had been verbally targeted by a drinking companion of Smith's and the Australian had fired back with some words of his own.

The witness said Smith was merely a bystander and that when Symonds and the other nightclub patron started arguing, the Queenslander took advice from within the Australian group to leave before things escalated into a full-scale incident.

Symonds has endured a tough time of late. He ducked into a bouncer on the first day of the second Test in Durban and had four stitches inserted in his upper lip, which is heavily swollen.

Cape Town has been something of a curse for Australian sports stars touring South Africa in recent years.

Last month, Wallaby winger Wendell Sailor was banned for three matches and fined $4000 after a drinking episode at a Cape Town nightclub while on tour with the NSW Waratahs.

Sailor was sent home in disgrace after admitting he pushed a man to the ground outside the nightclub and was sick in the street.

Last year, Wallaby reserve Matt Henjak was sent home after what became known as "the ice-throwing incident", a nightclub disturbance which also involved Sailor, Lote Tuqiri and Matt Dunning.

In March 2000, five Brumbies players damaged a taxi, were briefly detained by police and were thrown out of a bar for bad behaviour - including pulling their pants down. That was also in Cape Town.

Symonds, a former Australian one-day player of the year, infamously turned up in an unfit condition to play a one-day international against Bangladesh in Cardiff last year and was handed a two-game suspension.

Fiery paceman Andre Nel recently described Symonds as the South African team's least favourite Australian player.

Smith has also been low on the pop charts with his opponents, with Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne attacking his "unimaginative" captaincy during Australia's 2-0 win in the Test series in Australia in December-January.

Warne also described Smith's team as the worst South African side to tour Australia.

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