[2] As a junior rugby player he was selected in the Auckland East team which won the Roller Mills Shield in 2006.
[3] He attended De La Salle College from 2005 to 2010 where he was part of the 1st XV in 2009 that played in the Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament.
Taulagi then attended St Kentigern College and played for the 1st XV rugby team which won the Auckland 1A Championship in 2011.
[5][6] He was invited into the ARU's National Academy and selected to play in an Under-19 match for Queensland against New South Wales in October 2012.
[10] In England, he joined Devon club Newton Abbot RFC in a bid to win a contract with Exeter Chiefs for the 2017–18 season.