An excellent debut season for Tasman and Canterbury in provincial rugby brought him to the attention of Christchurch-based Super Rugby franchise, the who named him in their squad for the 2013 Super Rugby season. Aged just 21 and surrounded by experienced loose forwards such as Richie McCaw, Kieran Read, Matt Todd as well as George and Luke Whitelock it was largely a season of learning for the young Taufua who made just 5 substitute appearances throughout the year. A season spent learning from experience pros proved to be beneficial for him as he became much more of a regular the following year, playing 14 times as the 'Saders finished as the competition's runner-up, losing narrowly 33-32 to the in the final in Sydney.