Early career Laulala was selected as part of the 41-man wider training squad for the 2015 All Blacks squad. Laulala made his debut for New Zealand in the first test match of the year against Manu Samoa in Apia on 8 July, replacing
Owen Franks off the bench in the 57th minute, with the All Blacks going on to win against Manu Samoa by 25–16. He played another 3 tests off the bench for the All Blacks in 2015 but narrowly missed out on selection for the
2015 Rugby World Cup. Laulala had a serious knee injury at the start of the 2016 season, so did not play for the Chiefs, or the All Blacks for the whole of 2016, with All Black teammates
Nehe Milner-Skudder,
Charlie Ngatai and
James Broadhurst, missing the 2016 All Black season too.
2017–2019 Due to a run of injuries, Laulala was not selected for the All Blacks again until the
2017 Rugby Championship. He was a last-minute selection for the second Bledisloe Cup test against Australia (a 35–29 win to New Zealand), after 95-test veteran Owen Franks tore his Achilles tendon the day before the match. Laulala's 61-minute performance was widely acclaimed after winning several opposing scrums for the All Blacks. Laulala became a regular starter for New Zealand in Franks' absence, and started in every remaining test of the year following Franks' injury, making a total of nine test appearances for the All Blacks in 2017. Laulala failed to make the field for the All Blacks during the 2018 mid-year tests and was not selected due to injury, much like his injured Chiefs teammate
Kane Hames. Continued delays in Laulala's recovery also saw him miss the
2018 Rugby Championship, with another one of his Chiefs teammates,
Angus Ta'avao, making his debut for the All Blacks while Laulala was out injured. Laulala was named in the extended 51-man squad for the
2018 end-of-year tour and was subsequently given a spot on the bench for the third Bledisloe Cup test against Australia's Wallabies for 2018, displacing
Ofa Tu'ungafasi from the match-day 23. Laulala replaced Owen Franks in the 52nd minute against the Wallabies, completing his comeback to international rugby. The All Blacks beat the Wallabies, 37–20. A strong performance against Australia saw Laulala replace Franks in two crucial tests during the tour, against England and Ireland, the latter of whom defeated New Zealand for only the second time in history, with the All Blacks losing 9–16. Laulala was out-performed by his opposites,
Cian Healy and
Jack McGrath, but still performed fine. After a long injury-plagued year, Laulala earned a start for the final test of the tour, which was only his fourth test of 2018. The final test on tour took place at
Stadio Olimpico Rome in Italy. The All Blacks finished the year off with a 66–3 win over Italy. Laulala contributed a 54-minute performance towards the win against Italy and was replaced by Angus Ta'avao after a good game. After a poor performance from
Owen Franks in New Zealand's record 26–47 defeat at the hands of Australia in Perth, Laulala reclaimed a place in the starting lineup for New Zealand's second
Bledisloe Cup test against Australia for 2019, which ended as a 36–0 victory. On 28 August, All Blacks Head Coach,
Steve Hansen named Laulala as one of 31 players in New Zealand's squad for the
2019 Rugby World Cup. With Owen Franks missing out on the squad entirely, the selection of Laulala and Angus Ta'avao received widespread news coverage. Franks claimed that Laulala and Ta'avao "deserve their places in the World Cup squad". Laulala played in all of New Zealand's tests at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, starting in five and as a substitute against Canada. The All Blacks finished third place in the competition, beating Wales in the Bronze Final after a 7–19 loss to England during the semi-finals.
2020–2023 After overcoming another bout of injuries during the
2022 Rugby Championship, Laulala was selected for his second World Cup. Laulala played his 50th test match for the All Blacks, starting in the 3 jersey against France during their 13–27 loss in the opening match of the
2023 Rugby World Cup. His contributions in the tournament were three starts and as a replacement during the World Cup final, which was a 12–13 loss to South Africa. Laulala finished his international career with 53 tests to his name. ==Honours==