Northampton moved up to third in the Zurich Premiership after a gritty win over London Irish at the Madejski Stadium.

The Exiles paid the price for careless errors early on, with Saints' Paul Grayson notching up three easy penalties in the first eight minutes.

They finally got their reward just before the break.

Irish winger Justin Bishop was under pressure and had little choice but to put the ball in touch dangerously close to their goalline.

Switched

Grayson duly kicked the ball in touch to hand Northampton an important attacking line-out.

They made the most of it as former Wallaby Mark Connors won the line-out before scrum-half Matt Dawson switched the play.

The England international touched down for a 14-6 lead at the break.

But fly-half Everitt overcame blustery conditions at Reading to keep London Irish within reach with two further penalties.

The home side maintained their momentum but Everitt missed a drop goal while referee Steve Leyson denied him another score.

Saints have now won four out of six league games this season, while a bonus point for the Exiles does little to move Conor O'Shea's side away from the wrong end of the table.

Northampton: Beal, Ripol, Tucker, Leslie, Cohen, Grayson, Dawson, Smith, Thompson, Morris, Williams, Connors, Blowers, Pountney, Seely. Replacements: Budgen, Stewart, Phillips, Soden, Howard, Brooks, Sleightholme.

Referee: S Leyson (RFU)