Potgieter was born in Pretoria, where he attended Hoërskool Zwartkop, but he never represented his local provincial union, the, at national tournaments at schoolboy level. He moved to Durban prior to the 2013 season to join the Academy. He started all thirteen matches for the team in the 2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship as a flanker. He scored four tries – in home matches against, and and one try on his return to his hometown of Pretoria against the Blue Bulls – as the Sharks finished in third position on the log before losing to 25–27 to the s in Johannesburg. He progressed to the Sharks' Under-21 side for the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship. After starting two of their matches as a flanker, he moved to loosehead prop for the remainder of the competition, making a further seven starts. He scored tries in matches against , and Border as the Sharks finished in fifth position, failing to qualify for the semi-finals. Potgieter made his first class debut in April 2015 as he started the 's match against the in Round Three of their 2015 Vodacom Cup match in Kokstad. In his second match – against the in Empangeni a fortnight later – Potgieter scored his first senior try shortly before half-time, and followed that up with a second try ten minutes into the second half in a 52–12 victory for his side. He made two more starts – against and the – during the regular season as the Sharks XV missed out on the quarter finals after finishing sixth in the Southern Section. He made six starts and six appearances off the bench for the team in the 2015 Under-21 Provincial Championship as he and Mzamo Majola alternated the spot in the starting lineup throughout the competition. He scored tries in matches against and to help his side finish third before losing to the s in the semi-final. Potgieter again played first class rugby for the in 2016, but made just four appearances – all of those from the bench – in the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series.
In August 2016, Potgieter was among a number of players included in a hastily assembled squad; the team was liquidated the day before the 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division started, but quickly reformed and contracted a number of players that didn't feature in other teams' plans for the season. Potgieter didn't feature in their first match, but was named on the bench in their next match against the. He made his debut in the Currie Cup Premier Division in his hometown, coming on as a replacement in the 52nd minute of the match. After another appearance off the bench against, he made his first start in their 24–47 defeat to in Kimberley. He reverted to the bench for their match against the, but started against both the and their final match of the season against the. With their limited preparation time, it proved to be a difficult season for the Eastern Province Kings and they finished bottom of the log, losing all eight of their matches.
