A Christchurch student and rugby player has a very special training partner: his pet sheep.

Rhod Gerrard plays rugby for St Andrew's College under-16As and trains with Pete, his pet sheep.

A video of Gerrard and Pete training for Rhod's rugby games has gone viral, with many describing it as rugby training, "the Kiwi way".

Gerrard started training with his pet sheep because he needed to get used to the weight of the bigger boys in his grade, he told Newshub.

"There a few big boys in my grade and I had to get a bit more comfortable with the hit they put on. So I got Pete out to see if he could show me a few tricks," he said.

The video has gone viral on Facebook.