Northampton pull clear

Ashton: scored two tries for Northampton on Saturday

Northampton have all-but guaranteed themselves a place in the Aviva Premiership play-offs after beating London Irish 26-20 at the Madejski Stadium.

Chris Ashton scored both the Saints' tries in a match which pitted fourth place against fifth in the table. As such, a win for the Exiles would have boosted their own play-off hopes but instead they now find themselves seven points adrift of Saturday's winners.

The home side saw more of the ball in the first half but still fell behind to a counter-attacking try finished off by Ashton. Northampton appeared destined for a comfortable win when the England winger crossed again but then found themselves up again it during the final 20 minutes.

Two tries in four minutes scored by replacement Richard Thorpe and Seilala Mapusua ratcheted up the tension but even with so much to play for, Irish could not complete the comeback.

Northampton therefore appear destined to finish in the top four and can now switch attentions to their Heineken Cup semi-final against Perpignan next weekend.

The Exiles had the first chance to put points on the board in the fourth minute but Tom Homer's long-range penalty attempt - from inside his own half - was left of the posts.

Stephen Myler missed in the same fashion six minutes later - from nearer the target - with the opening minutes turning into a stalemate as the pitchside temperature touched 30 degrees Celsius.

Promising

The home side then put together some phases but the promising move ended when Bob Casey was dispossessed, with Northampton immediately breaking the deadlock.

Ashton was the scorer, the England wing picking up Jon Clarke's pass about 10 metres inside inside his own half before sprinting past Delon Armitage and to the line in typical fashion, with Myler converting.

Homer earned three points for Irish in the 27th minute - this time from just inside the Saints' half - and pulled the gap back to one point with another penalty three minutes later.

Myler increased the gap after 33 minutes when Faan Rautenbach decided to haul down Northampton's lineout, but another long-range effort from Homer hit the left post moments later. Myler then found the target again to put Northampton 13-6 ahead at half time.

They held the advantage but were still struggling to string accurate passes together and were almost punished after 44 minutes, when Topsy Ojo picked up a telegraphed Ben Foden pass to the right flank before being pulled down.

Northampton were poised to score again seconds later after Myler kicked a penalty to the corner and although Paul Hodgson fumbled the ball off the back of a scrum, replays suggested an errant hand may have had an influence.

Running on to his own kick from midfield, Ashton then pressured Jamie Gibson into touch but from the resulting line-out, Clarke's pass to Calum Clark on the overlap was forward.

Even so, an advantage was played and another three-pointer from Myler put Northampton 10 points ahead, with their second try coming soon after.

It was a triumph for the energy of the Saints' pack - Dylan Hartley breaking after Steffon Armitage lost the ball at a ruck, with both Clark and Soane Tonga'uiha progressing the move.

Lee Dickson then put Ashton through, with Myler again converting to put his side 17 points ahead on the hour - Northampton then making wholesale changes to their forwards.

Pressure

Irish's response was immediate as they headed towards the Saints' line, the pressure bubbling before Thorpe sprung from the back of a scrum to cross in the 65th minute.

Homer converted and did again after Irish scored another try four minutes later. It came after Ojo broke on the right-hand flank, with Bowden then springing through the centre before his offload found Mapusua.

Irish had therefore pulled the gap back to just three points and although Myler kicked his fifth penalty after 73 minutes, they then lost possession off a lineout after he had booted another penalty to touch.

They had to bundle a line-bound Ojo into touch as a result, with Ashton then having to dive in to prevent his opposite number crossing the whitewash.

The home side gained a lineout but Northampton won it and proceeded to go through the phases as the clock ticked to full time.