Kurtley Beale has made light of a potentially dangerous situation after a streaker was given the freedom of Oita Stadium during the Australia-Uruguay Rugby World Cup match.

The male streaker, clad only in a Wallabies jacket and sneakers, invaded the ground late in the contest in the first such incident of the tournament.

It is unclear how he got through what was a thin security line around the field.

And once there, World Rugby would have been horrified the man was able to run free before eventually choosing to return to the stands on his own accord.

Even once back among the crowd, there was no security in pursuit and it was initially unclear whether the man had been apprehended.

Reports later said he had been taken into custody.

Tournament terms state that any spectator who gets onto the field of play will have their tickets revoked and could face police charges.

Despite the potential for a threatening on-field situation to unfold, Beale laughed off the incident as harmless.

The streaker passed closest to Beale and tried to give him a high-five in the 75th minute of Australia’s 45-10 win but the stunned Wallaby backed away.

“He got me good… he caught me by surprise,” Beale said.

“All of a sudden I felt something come over my left shoulder and he came up and he spooked me. I don’t think he got caught, he went back into the stands and enjoyed the rest of the game.”