The Lions made a superb start to their World Rugby Classic campaign with a crushing 43-7 victory over Canada at the North Field, National Sports Centre, yesterday.

Last year’s beaten finalists fell behind after four minutes when John Allen powered over the line for Canada with Derek Daypuck adding the conversion.

Canada’s joy was short-lived, however, with Dave Corkery, the former Ireland forward, and Tony Buckley both scoring tries converted by Ceri Sweeney to give Lions a 12-7 lead.

Further first-half tries by Chris Wyatt and Andrew Jenkins, also converted by the reliable boot of Sweeney, put Lions firmly in control at the break at 26-7.

Despite trailing by such a sizeable margin, Canada showed plenty of appetite for the battle, but the difference in quality told as they fell further behind when Mark Blair bundled the ball over the line.

Further second-half tries by Daffyd James and Stuart Moffat completed the rout, with Allan Martin, the Lions manager, now confident his side can reach a successive classic final.

“We were a bit slow out of the blocks but we came good at the end,” said Martin, whose side lost 17-3 to the Classic All Blacks last year. “Fair dos to Canada, I thought they would fold in the second half but they stuck at it like typical Canadians.

“We ran away with it in the end, but fair play to Canada, they played well.”

Lions are sweating on the fitness of James and Bryan Rennie, who picked up knocks to the groin and shoulder, respectively, ahead of their semi-final against Argentina on Wednesday night.

Argentina earned a last-gasp 14-12 victory over France in yesterday’s opening game.

France were thoroughly dominant in the first half, taking an early lead through Benoit Marfaing who then added a second try on 24 minutes, running the length of the pitch after an interception.

Leading 12-0 at the interval, France continued to play their trademark free-flowing rugby but had their lead reduced when Jose de Neves scored Argentina’s first try to make it 12-5.

Argentina breathed a sigh of relief when Santiago van der Ghote’s conversion bounced between the posts after striking the woodwork to put them firmly back in the game.

In the dying seconds, Alejandro Galli scored a try between the posts after some sloppy French defending, with Joaquin Todeschni holding his nerve to add the conversion and seal the win.

Rodolfo Ventura, the Argentina manager, believed his side deserved a slice of good fortune after showing a “never-say-die” attitude.

“It was a dramatic finish and we are taught to keep fighting until the final whistle,” he said.

“Today we had a bit of luck at the finish and now we’re motivated for the semi-final.”

Sebastian Bozzi, the France captain, admitted his side had been perhaps been punished for sticking to their attacking principles.

“We tried to play a lot and maybe if we had kicked for position it would have been better,” Bozzi said. “But we lost with the French flair and if that’s the case we’re happy.”