Stand-ins shine for Saints

Northampton made light of the absence of six starters on international duty to beat London Irish 35-23 in the top-of-the-table clash at Franklin's Gardens.

Saints' dominance was far more emphatic than the scoreline suggests, as Irish ran in two late converted tries after the hosts had already secured a bonus point.

Northampton took their unbeaten run to nine games, while Irish have now lost four in a row as the season enters a critical stage. They cling onto second place in the Aviva Premiership for now, but have slipped eight points behind Northampton.

A freezing night began brightly for the Exiles as Ryan Lamb knocked over a couple of early drop-goals, much to the annoyance of a sell-out crowd, with Saints getting on the board through a Stephen Myler penalty.

But Northampton slowly began to get on top and after a succession of penalties close to the Irish line, 18-year-old winger Jamie Elliott slid in at the corner under pressure and the video referee awarded the try. Myler added the extras from the touchline.

Almost directly from the re-start Northampton surged clear for their second try, hooker Brett Sharman placing a superb kick down the touchline and Paul Diggin hacked on before diving on the ball.

Myler added the extras from the opposite touchline this time, before he and Lamb exchanged a penalty apiece to keep the gap at 11 points.

Crucial try

The half looked set to end that way only for Saints to grab a crucial third try with the last play of the half. Soane Tonga'uiha smuggled the ball out of a maul and Jon Clarke raced 40 metres and side-stepped Delon Armitage to score beneath the posts.

The second half was a more dis-jointed affair, not least because within 15 minutes it was mission accomplished for the Saints.

They had the bonus point try when a solid scrum and blind-side burst from Ryan Powell set up Diggin for his second score.

After Diggin was stretchered off around the hour mark after a lengthy stoppage, Northampton lost their concentration and Chris Halaufia charged over from close range.

Topsy Ojo's interception try five minutes from time gave Irish brief hope of forcing a losing bonus point, but even that was denied them as Shane Geraghty knocked over a penalty to complete a highly satisfactory night for the leaders.