Tagaloa began his rugby career in Auckland, playing for the amateur club Waitemata and the Auckland provincial team (first-grade and reserve teams). In 1983 he played several games for the youth team of New Zealand.
In 1985, Timo Tagaloa moved to the United States and entered the Utah State University, playing for the university team in the college football championship. Team coach Chris Pell has named Tagaloa as one of the top 15-20 defenders in American college football.[1] From 1985 to 1989, Tagaloa played 44 games, scoring 30 points thanks to 5 touchdowns,[2] but abandoned the career of a professional NFL player.[3]
In 1990, Tagaloa returned to rugby, continuing his career with the Wellington Provincial team and playing for the Marist St Pats amateur club. He also played for the North Shore and North Harbour provincial team. In the 1990–1991 season, he was involved in the Samoa national team, in which Tagaloa debuted with Western Samoa in the match against Korea national rugby union team, on 8 April 1990, at Tokyo. He was part of the 1991 Rugby World Cup roster. During the World Cup, he scored 2 tries against Argentina.[4] His last international match for Samoa was during the test match against Scotland on 19 October 1991, at Murrayfield. For Samoa, he scored 220 points in 37 matches (test and non-test). Later, he played for New Zealand and for the Al Blacks Sevens.[5] According to his own words, due to the impossibility of getting into the All Blacks, Tagaloa was on the verge of suicide for some time, but stopped in time.[6] Currently, he works for the Association "Athletes in Action", which is actively involved in psychological rehabilitation of athletes in difficult situations.[7]
