A youthful England side were far too strong for a listless Canada outfit, with hat tricks from Radwan and Blamire inspiring them to a 56-point victory.

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Marcus Smith piloted England to a 70-14 rout of Canada on Saturday, unaware he had been called up to the British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa.

Smith’s career-changing month took another remarkable twist, with the Harlequins flyhalf receiving a Lions call-up midway through England’s 10-try romp at Twickenham.

Hooker Jamie Blamire and wing Adam Radwan bagged hat-tricks, with Joe Cokanasiga claiming two tries and Ellis Genge also crossing in addition to a penalty try.

But Smith’s Lions elevation was the talk of the 10,000 fans at Twickenham – who all knew about his call-up before the man himself.

The 22-year-old steered Harlequins to an unlikely English Premiership final victory last month, quickly following that triumph with his first two England caps.

But while the fleet-footed playmaker was on his way to a 100% return of nine shots at goal, he was also called up to the Lions squad as injury cover for Scotland flyhalf Finn Russell.

The Lions confirmed Smith’s call-up at the start of the second half.

And as word filtered around Twickenham, supporters were trying their best to break the news to the uninformed flyhalf.

Smith was replaced by George Furbank with 15 minutes to play, and appeared to discover his Lions fate on leaving the field.

While Smith was all set to race to the airport to jump on a flight to South Africa, his England teammates were left to toast a well-constructed win.

Ross Braude and Kainoa Lloyd claimed tries for a Canada side that were outclassed, with England effectively in control throughout.

“I can’t believe it,” Smith told Channel Four. “They called me into the tunnel 10 minutes ago and I don’t believe it – I was shaking, I still can’t believe it, it’s amazing.”

He added: “The last four weeks have been brilliant and I will never forget them for sure. It will be special, a dream come true. It’s the pinnacle for any young player.”

© Agence France-Presse