Northampton were denied a chance go top in the Premiership on Tuesday night by a newly invigorated London Irish, who scored five tries to record their sixth win in seven outings.

Irish wing Niall Woods was the hero as he piled on the misery for Saints with four tries, two conversion and a penalty, bringing his personal haul to 27 points.

He also put away centre Nick Burrows for the only other Exiles score in what was a memorable display of individual flair by a player set to carry Irish try-scoring hopes into the Five Nations.

But Northampton have only themselves to blame - sunk by a dismal team performance that saw their early territorial dominance squandered through a rash of schoolboy handling errors.

Saints only consolations came in the 54th minute with a try from centre Andy Blyth and a penalty in the 62nd minute by stand-off Paul Grayson.

The Exile's run of impressive victories has finally boosted manager Dick Best's team of international recruits into the top half of the table after several seasons as the Premiership's underachievers - a title that looks set to pass to Saints after Tuesday's performance.

Newcastle 34-23 Bedford

Premiership whipping boys Bedford saw their dream of victory over a star-studded Newcastle vanish after leading for 77 of the 80 minutes at Kingston Park.

Three tries in three minutes from Martin Shaw, Jonny Wilkinson and Va'aiga Tuigamala sealed Bedford's fate as the Midlands side remain anchored to the bottom of the table with just two league wins.

Sale 30-32 Bath

Bath's management and players breathed a sigh of relief after an excellent display from Mike Catt ended the West Country team's six-match losing streak at Sale.

But Bath still exhibited the nervousness and lack of form that has typified their season by nearly throwing away a 14-point lead in the closing minutes. Only a missed conversion by Sale's Shane Howarth prevented a draw.

London Scottish 24-13 Gloucester

London Scottish extricated themselves from the bottom three in the table with a win over Gloucester, who continue to exhibit appalling away form.

But the match was overshadowed by rumours of the imminent departure of the Cherries' club captain Dave Sims, who was dropped for this game - purportedly because of a bout of flu.