The school will host the Roosters’ academy from next year, with the NRL club set to hold camps and clinics in Rolleston from March.
The Roosters are one of the most decorated NRL clubs, winning 15 premierships, most recently in 2019.
They finished third in the latest season, making the preliminary final before losing to Melbourne Storm.
Rolleston College deputy principal Alby Wilson said it was exciting to have the Roosters at the college.
“It’s rugby out here, so it’s nice to see another code have an opportunity to grow, and support the local rugby league club, the Rolleston Warriors, in terms of publicity for the sport,” he said.
“We’re pleased to have it and hopeful this goes well and we can continue to grow that partnership.”
The agreement will see the club host training camps and clinics using the school’s facilities, which will allow the Roosters to assess young players coming from throughout the country, but mainly from the South Island.
Rolleston College came onto the NRL club’s radar thanks to a prior connection between Wilson, the teacher in charge of rugby league at the school, and Archie Jacobs, the lead recruiter for the Roosters in Canterbury and head coach of the Eastern Eagles premier team.
Jacobs said the goal was to provide a pathway from the region to the Roosters youth teams - while boosting local talent.
“There’s talent here, and it’s not always seen,” he said.
“If we can pick up a couple and they go to that next level, then awesome, and hopefully that translates into a bit more interest and playing numbers in our game down here.”
Jacobs said Rolleston College was preferred by the Roosters because of its facilities.
"They’ve got a gymnasium with two full-size basketball courts, so there’s plenty of space if we want to do some ball work inside.
"They’ve got a weights gym, classrooms with technology so we can link laptops.
"We’ve got access to the kitchen if we want to put on some lunch for the boys, showers if we need to use those, and a footy ground in great nick.
"Those sort of things are easy to access, all in one space."
"I think us having a connection now, we potentially have the ability to say: 'In Selwyn there are a few rugby boys that deserve a look, what would it look like if they were to join a clinic or two?'
"At college, we’re not a rugby club, we’re not a league club, we’re a sports club.
"We just want people being active, it doesn’t matter what code they’re playing, as long as they’re having active participation in something."
Rolleston Rugby Club president Nicky Ruki said she was not too worried about the possibility of the club losing players. The majority of their teenage players represent Rolleston College, rather than the club, she said.
"We’re not losing anything more than what we’re losing now," Ruki said.
"Maybe a few more that decide they might change to league but, if they were going to play rugby union, they were potentially going to play at the school anyway.
"I don’t think it’s going to impact us hugely."
