Sin Bin

The seats will be introduced at Sydney's vast ANZ Stadium in time for the Rugby Championship © Getty Images

Enlarge

Ever found yourself craning your neck to get a better view of your favourite XV as they smash into the opposition?

Well Australian rugby chiefs have come up with a novel way to end the neck pain of Wallabies fans. They are set to introduce moveable seats at Sydney's ANZ Stadium, allowing spectators to move up and down the pitch to keep up with the action.

The seats, which have been developed by Samsung, will sit on rails along the touchline at the 83,500 capacity stadium. Fans will be able to slide along the rails at speeds of up to 12mph, with the seats being introduced for the opening match of the Rugby Championship against New Zealand on August 16.

"If the Wallabies are getting close to the All Blacks' try line, you'll be right there in the action and at kick-off you'll be back at halfway," Samsung Australia's chief marketing officer Arno Lenior said.

This being the age of the 'selfie', each seat will be equipped with a coolbox and tablet computer, allowing the occupant to take pictures of themselves to post on social media. And in a further sign of the times, health and safety rules demand that spectators using the seats will have to wear safety harnesses, throwing up all sorts of problems for those hoping to nip out to use the toilet just before half-time.

Known as the Slideliner, the mobile bank of seats will be controlled by an operator with a joystick. But before you imagine a whole stadium of fans whizzing up and down the wings, the Slideliner contains just four seats, with fans going through a national competition for the privilege of sitting in them.

There is one further problem - the seats are currently facing the wrong way.

"It's facing the crowd, which is not what you want, but certainly on the game day it'll be in front of the seats facing the game," Lenior explained.