Pokomela earned his first provincial selection in 2012, when he represented Eastern Province at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week held in Johannesburg, starting all three of their matches in the tournament.
Although he didn't score in the final, he played the entire 70 minutes of a 25–23 victory over Blue Bulls U19[12] to help his side become champions for the first time in their history.
He started four of their matches and scored a try in their 46–33 victory over UCT Ikey Tigers[15] in a season that saw NMMU finish in seventh position in the league.
Following serious financial problems at the Eastern Province Kings at the end of the 2015 season which saw a number of first team regular leave the union,[16] Pokomela was among a number of youngsters that were promoted to the squad that competed in the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series,[17] He was named in the starting lineup for their first match of the season against the SWD Eagles[18] and played the entire 80 minutes of a 14–37 defeat.
[21] On 10 May 2016, he was included in the final squad for the 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship tournament to be held in Manchester, England, also being named vice-captain of the team.