Cats captain Johan Erasmus has denied that he and coach Laurie Mains have been at odds over tactics in the Super 12 this season.

According to the Cape Times, the argument is also believed to be related to Erasmus's refusal to sign a petition that was going to be presented to Sarfu asking for Mains to be appointed as Cats coach next year.

Cats media liaison Annemarie Mains, who is also Mains' wife, denied the allegations. "Some of the players asked Laurie a few days ago whether he would stay on, but there was no petition at all," she told the Cape Times.

Erasmus also denied there was a problem. "I don't know where that comes from. It's utter nonsense," he said.

Mains returned on Monday from the most successful Cats tour of Australia and New Zealand since the inception of the Super 12 1996 and he denied the very existence of the petition.

"This [the report] comes down to jealously. The Cape media has tried to discredit the Cats and its captain since the beginning of the Super 12, because the Cats have been so successful," the coach told Rugby 365 on Tuesday.

"This latest fabrication is a below the belt attempt to damage the Cats' Super 12 campaign. The spirit and unity in this team has never been better. My own position remains unchanged.

"I was told when appointed this year that it would be my last. There was a decision taken to only appoint South Africans as Super 12 coaches in future."

Mains, however, confirmed that a number of players have approached him to reconsider his position.

Erasmus was relieved of the captaincy for the Cats' victory over the Crusaders on April 22 and the game against the Reds last Saturday, which he subsequently did not play in as a media statement said he had strained a buttock muscle.

It is common knowledge in rugby circles that the innovative Erasmus has never been a great fan of Mains' coaching style.

While Mains prefers a basic game plan revolving around forward domination and the gaining of territorial advantage before striking with his backs from a good position close to the opponents' try-line, Erasmus is preaching a more adventurous approach.

According to people close to the camp a heated argument ensued in the Cats' change room after the last-minute 19-17 defeat to the Brumbies at Ellis Park on March 10 about team tactics. After that game Mains dropped regular flyhalf Louis Koen and brought in the stronger, more physical Clinton van Rensburg for the game against the Waratahs.

The coach wanted to return to a more conservative approach, but Erasmus wanted none of it. According to Sportal's source a fuming Erasmus left Johannesburg that week for Bloemfontein and Mains had to convince him to return to the Cats' camp.

Since then their relationship has apparently not been comfortable and the latest allegations about a rift don't come as a surprise at all.