He played every match of Wales' 2011 Six Nations Championship campaign as well as all four warm-up matches. In August 2011 he was named in the Wales squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. He played in Wales' opening two games against South Africa and Samoa, but missed the pool games against Namibia and Fiji with an ankle injury that lead to him infamously waking up to ice his leg every hour. It paid off, and he played a key role in Wales' quarter-final win over Ireland and then subsequent losses to France and Australia. He finished second on the tournament's top-tacklers, behind only Wales and Dragons teammate Toby Faletau.