Pitch invading prankster Daniel Jarvis charged after lining up with Kangaroos players at Ashes Test

A pitch invader who lined up alongside Australia’s rugby league players while the national anthem played at the weekend’s Ashes match in Liverpool has been arrested.

Daniel Jarvis, a serial prankster, allegedly escaped the attention of security before kick-off in the second Test against England, slipping undetected on to the pitch to link arms with Kangaroos star Cameron Munster as Advance Australia Fair played.

Munster noticed the interloper but did not realise it was a prank until he recognised the man known as “Jarvo” to his considerable social media following.

“Some guy tried to get in between me and him [Pat Carrigan] and I said, ‘Nah’. Then he asked me again, ‘Can I stand next to you and hold you?’. I said, ‘Righto mate. Do what you need to do’,” Munster said after the game.

“I just assumed he had some corporate package or some agreement with the Kangaroos that he could jump in for the anthem. Then I realised who it was. It was the guy who does that stuff on the regular.

“It took me a while to click on but it was pretty funny. He got me. It was a bit weird but I just went with it. He got me an absolute ripper.

“Security guards or one of the people who work at the grounds went and grabbed him and were pretty aggressive with him. I knew straight away I got stitched up massively.”

Jarvis, who has performed similar stunts before – including at last year’s Paris Olympics, a Test cricket match at The Oval and an England football game – was taken into police custody.

“We can confirm that officers have detained a man following an incident at Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool,” Merseyside police said.

“The 37-year-old man from Gravesend, Kent, was detained at around 2.30pm after entering the pitch before the start of the England v Australia rugby league match.

“He has been arrested on suspicion of possession of articles for use in fraud and fraud by false representation, and has been taken to a police station for questioning.”

Jarvis was subsequently charged with disrupting a person engaged in a lawful activity. He was remanded in custody to appear at Liverpool magistrates court on Monday.

The stunt did not prove a distraction for Munster or the Kangaroos, with the playmaker scoring a try in Australia’s 14-4 win over England that secured an Ashes series victory.