But it was more than mere points which separated these two sides after a one-sided match at Sunbury yesterday.In the end it seemed that all London Irish had to offer their opponents was passion and it was never enough against a side as clinical as Northampton, who took charge of affairs almost immediately and rarely let up until the final whistle.The England fly-half Paul Grayson put in an excellent performance, appropriately wrapping things up with the final try and conversion to take Saints beyond the half-century and ahead of Wasps in the table. Grayson finished with a personal tally of 26 points.However, there is never a time when opponents can relax against Irish opposition as Northampton soon learned. Having applied all the early pressure, the Saints were rather miffed to find themselves behind in the 19th minute.An innocuous looking high kick by the right-wing, Justin Bishop, saw the ball bobble clear of Ian Hunter and drop perfectly for the centre Mark McCall, who raced free and touched down under the posts, leaving Niall Woods with a simple conversion.Saints were soon ahead again. Grayson, who had been stopped just short of the Exiles’ line in the third minute after a blistering break, punished a series of unnecessary Irish offences with a couple of penalties.After that Northampton took charge.

The back row of Tim Rodber, Don Mackinnon and Budge Pountney combined beautifully late in the half to produce their first try. Pountney got it, but it was the unit’s effort, and Grayson naturally converted it.A couple of outbreaks of ill-temper among the forwards saw Pountney pick up a yellow card late in the game, while the first explosion in first- half injury time resulted in the Saints tighthead prop, Matt Stewart, getting a wigging from the referee, Ashley Rowden.Seven minutes into the second half, two missed tackles on Matt Dawson saw the England scrum-half scampering over after a 25-yard dash, having been set up from a scrum with a pass from Rodber. Grayson’s kick left Irish with too much to do.There were further tries from Gary Pagel, the South African prop making his debut; the score of the match from Gregor Townsend, who ran across the defence and then used his remarkable pace to go around the outside; and a deserved touchdown for the centre Matt Allen before Grayson’s final word.London Irish: C O’Shea (capt); J Bishop, N Burrows (R Hennessy, 59), M McCall (S Burns, 68), N Woods; D Humphreys, N Hogan; J Fitzpatrick, T Redmond, G Halpin, G Fulcher (L Mooney, 70; O’Connell 74), M O’Kelly, K O’Connell (R Kellam, 67), K Spicer, K Dawson (C Bird, 59).Northampton: I Hunter (B Cohen, 50); J Sleightholme, G Townsend, M Allen, J Bell; P Grayson, M Dawson; G Pagel, A Clarke, M Stewart, J Phillips, J Chandler, D Mackinnon, T Rodber (capt), A Pountney.. Matt Pini left Bristol stranded at the foot of Allied Dunbar Premiership Division One after kicking the 78th-minute penalty which condemned them to a 13-12 home defeat by mid-table Richmond.

The 28-year-old Australian full-back stepped up to land the crucial points after the replacement wing Jason Wright had scored the London side’s two tries. Bristol’s points, four penalties, all came from the boot of Paul Burke, but the Irish fly- half missed three other straightforward place kicks in the first half which should have put the home side out of sight. Tony Underwood, the England and Lions wing, returns for the league leaders Newcastle at home to Gloucester today for the first time in three months since suffering a cruciate knee- ligament injury. John Bentley replaces Jim Naylor on the other wing while Va’aiga Tuigamala and Nick Popplewell face late fitness tests. Gloucester are already without the injured Philippe Saint-Andre and Dave Sims.

England’s Mike Catt is still ruled out after concussion and misses Bath’s visit to unbeaten Saracens who will give debuts to the South African full-back Gavin Johnson and the Argentine prop Roberto Grau.
Bedford maintained their 100 per cent record in Division Two by winning 28-14 at Waterloo, their 10th successive league victory of the season. Frank Warren’s team are now four points clear of London Scottish, who beat Rotherham 35-29, with a game in hand. Three teams – Waterloo, West Hartlepool, who disposed of Exeter 34-14, and Coventry – are two points behind the Exiles. Coventry, beaten 28-27 at Blackheath two months ago, gained their revenge in similar fashion, shading the return fixture at Coundon Road 24-22. Fylde and Wakefield continue to prop up the table after defeats by Orrell, ending a run of losses, and Moseley respectively.In Jewson National League One, London Welsh remain one point ahead following a 32-17 success at Harrogate while second-placed Worcester swept aside visitors Reading 47-19.Cumbria continued their defence of the Tetley’s Bitter County Championship with a 66-26 demolition of Durham at Hartlepool Rovers.