London Irish (9) 23 Tries: Hala'ufia, Ojo Cons: Lamb 2 Pens: Lamb Drop-goals: Lamb 2
Saints win lifts them eight points clear of London Irish in the Premiership
Northampton cemented their place at the top of the Premiership table with a dazzling first-half performance to earn a bonus point win over London Irish.
Ryan Lamb struck two early drop-goals before Saints hit back with tries from Jamie Elliott and Paul Diggin.
Jon Clarke then crossed on the stroke of half-time as the Exiles crumbled.
Diggin's second try after the interval ensured the bonus point for Saints before Chris Hala'ufia went over for Irish and Topsy Ojo also touched down.
This was a hugely impressive performance by the home side, who were without six of their internationals, over their nearest rivals.
And it was built on a devastating first-half effort by the Northampton pack who laid the foundation for an utterly one-sided half of rugby.
Irish started brightly, spraying the ball across the width of the park, as Lamb gave them a six-point lead inside two minutes.
Saints struck back with a Myler penalty and then twice in quick succession came close to scoring inside the opening 15 minutes.
First Roger Wilson failed to hold Soane Tonga'uiha's offload as the line beckoned and then Christian Day lost the ball in the tackle as he reached for the line.
But soon after 18-year-old winger Elliott, making only his second start for Saints, dived into the corner to score in his second successive game before Myler added the extras.
The home side's pack were by now in total control of both the set-piece scrum and in the loose - with the rampaging Tonga'uiha at the heart of everything good from Saints.
Diggin's chase of Brett Sharman's left-footed hack earned Northampton a nine-point lead and Myler was again on song from out wide.
Lamb clawed three back for Irish but the hosts were quickly on the front foot again and Myler's kick to the corner forced Paul Hodgson to deliberately push the ball into touch.
Myler converted the resulting penalty for a 20-9 lead.
Irish looked one-dimensional and forlorn in attack and, as the interval approached, were in disarray as even their trademark line-out faltered.
Saints lost prop Brian Mujati to an ankle injury but on the stroke of half-time Jon Clark made a dazzling run as he side-stepped Hodgson and Delon Armitage to slide over the line. Myler added the conversion.
The visitors gained some composure after the break but despite good possession their attacking play remained ponderous.
Diggin slipped in for his brace with a simple blind-side move off a scrum after a great one-handed pass from Wilson at the base but Myler, for once, was off target.
Tonga'uiha left the field with 20 minutes to go and Saints lost some of their potency with the man of the match's departure.
Diggin was carried off on a stretcher five minutes later after a nasty collision with Hala'uifia as Irish finally built some pressure.
When play resumed the Exiles number eight darted in to score from close and Lamb added the extras.
Saints brought on Shane Geraghty and Bruce Reihana and the duo's introduction sparked new life into the hosts.
Ojo's breakaway try in the dying minutes, converted by Lamb, gave the scoreline some respectability for Irish before Geraghty added a late penalty for Saints.
This was Exiles fifth successive defeat and with Leicester up next they will hope to improve drastically next week to maintain a place in the Premiership top four.
Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder told BBC Radio Northampton: "I was delighted with the starting XV and the lads who came off the bench. It was really good.
"The first half in particular we really dominated. I was delighted with some of the young lads who came in.
"We're playing well at the moment and we must make sure we maintain that."
London Irish head coach Toby Booth: "We had control for the first 10 minutes but we then relinquished control for a long period.
"Northampton are a very talented squad but I'm very disappointed we conceded 32 points in 40 minutes of rugby.
"I was pleased how we responded in adversity but we should not have put ourselves in that position".
Replacements: Reihana for Diggin (65), Geraghty for Myler (65), Cummins for Powell (74), Dreyer for Tonga'uiha (60), Long for Sharman (74), Mercey for Mujati (38), Clark for Sorenson (60), Easter for Dowson (65).
London Irish: D Armitage; Ojo, Seveali'i, Bowden, Joseph; Lamb, Hodgson; Dermody (capt), Buckland, Ion; Kennedy, Casey; Roche, S Armitage, Hala'ufia.
Replacements: Malone for D. Armitage (63), Watson for Joseph (67), Allinson for Hodgson (61), Corbisiero for Dermody (53), Paice for Buckland (26), Garvey for Kennedy (57), Thorpe for S. Armitage (63).
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