On 18 January 2010, he was named in the 35-man Wales squad for the 2010 Six Nations. He scored his first international try against Italy in the 2011 Six Nations. Warburton captained Wales for the first time against the Barbarians on 4 June 2011 at the age of 22 years and 242 days becoming Wales' second youngest captain after Gareth Edwards. In a World Cup warm-up match against England, Warburton was named man of the match. In August 2011, he was named as captain for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in the absence of the injured Matthew Rees.