Nel was born in Port Elizabeth, but grew up in Benoni, where he earned an inclusion to the squad that competed at the Under-18 Craven Week tournament held in Kimberley in 2011. He started three matches and scored a try against the. He made the very short move to Johannesburg to the Academy after high school. He appeared in all thirteen of the s' matches during the 2012 Under-19 Provincial Championship, starting twelve of those. He scored a try in both of their matches against and two tries against in George to help his side secure a semi-final place. However, they lost in the semi-finals, with winning the match 24–14 in Stellenbosch. Nel made his first class debut on 15 March 2013; he was included in the squad for the 2013 Vodacom Cup competition and started their Round Two match against former side the in a 22–27 defeat. He started two more matches in losses to the and respectively, but didn't feature in the play-offs. The Golden Lions won the competition, beating the 42–28 in the final in Nelspruit. Despite still being in the Under-20 age-group, Nel started all thirteen of the ' matches in the 2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship. He scored six tries – including a brace in their match against eventual champions – as the Golden Lions finished in fourth spot. However, Nel lost in a semi-final to Western Province for the second consecutive year, who beat Golden Lions U21 44–41 after extra time. He started the 2014 season by representing in the 2014 Varsity Cup competition. He started in all seven their matches and scored a try in their 32–15 victory over rival Johannesburg-based university side. It proved to be a disappointing campaign for UJ, however, as they finished second-bottom in the competition to qualify for a relegation play-off match against. Nel also started this match, as UJ ran out 42–8 victors to retain their Varsity Cup status for 2015. He started ten matches for in the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship and contributed four tries – two of those in their match against in Bloemfontein – as they once again reached the semi-finals only to be eliminated at that stage, this time by the s, who won 23–19 in Pretoria. Nel made five starts and two substitute appearances for the Golden Lions during the 2015 Vodacom Cup. He scored two tries in their match against the in a 24–16 victory in Nelspruit as they went through the regular season unbeaten to finish top of the Northern Section log. He scored his third try of the season in their 29–21 victory over the, but was not a member of the side that lost their semi-final 20–43 to the a week later. Nel was included in the Golden Lions' Currie Cup side for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division and was named on the bench for their Round Five match against the in Johannesburg.
