It is difficult to say when London Irish began to forge ahead of Newcastle Falcons, but that they have done so was cruelly exposed by this seven-try drubbing. For the majority of the Premiership's lifetime these two sides have sat side by side in the scheme of things — a couple of good, mid-table clubs capable of winning the cup every now and then. These days the gap between them yawns.

London Irish were without five first-choice players, yet the ease with which they condemned Newcastle to the ­season's heaviest defeat to date suggested not the slightest disruption. They are a team thriving on a buoyancy of spirit that has lifted them to the top of the table, a shining example to so many other sides in this part of the world, both at club and international level, who are playing as if misery is a constant companion.

England might qualify as such, so they could do worse than to look at some of the exuberant spirits emerging from the revolution in Reading. Brian Smith, the man whose influence as Irish's coach in recent seasons did much to precipitate their upturn in fortunes, is now England's attack coach, so he may well see to it that more of the Exiles are worked into the senior squad when it is announced next week. Declan Danaher and the young prop Alex Corbisiero, both rampaging try-scorers here, Danaher for the third match in a row, will have their eye on the Saxons squad, while Steffon Armitage will wait to see if he will be joining his brother, Delon, one of the five absentees, in the senior set-up.

In a serendipitous turn of events, Shane Geraghty already happens to be there. It is easy to forget that he was selected back in July on a bit of a whim, because he has since struggled with injury. Now he is starting to hit the front as a viable alternative to Toby Flood and Danny Cipriani. "That's the best Shane's played this season," said Toby Booth, the London Irish coach. "He brought game control this week and he brought his individual brilliance. That was really important, especially as Brian Smith was sitting right in front of me."

It may be early to tout Geraghty as England's answer at No10, but it needs to be acknowledged that the question remains open and he is in the perfect place to answer it. Newcastle gave him latitude to do more or less what he wanted, which will not happen if he plays for England, but he was not shy in taking advantage and his darting breaks featured in Irish's two best tries, the third and fourth.

That they were registered in the 27th and 30th minutes respectively summed up Newcastle's afternoon. There was hope for them in a dominant opening five minutes, but they had gifted Irish their first two tries for a 17–3 lead by the end of the first quarter and then fell away weakly as Geraghty and co set about them thereafter.

Of their absentees, only Jonny Wilkinson, who will be out until March, would be likely to make any difference. So many of the fleet-footed players that gained Newcastle the respect they used to share with Irish have departed now, and they are staring at a fight with Bristol to avoid the drop. Their owner, Dave Thompson, would have sold them by now if only anyone had wanted to buy and their crowds are dwindling alarmingly, a point rubbed in all the more stingingly by the raucous mob of nearly 11,000 that jeered their every error here.

Steve Bates, the Newcastle coach, ­conceded that there was no scope for improving his squad in the foreseeable future, and there seems little in the way of energising competition among the ­players he does have. It is yet another pointer in the widening of the gap between the Exiles and the Falcons. The latter cannot afford to let it get much wider.

London Irish Hewat (Catt, 53); Ojo, Seveali'I (Gower, 60), Mapasua, Homer; Geraghty, Hodgson (Lalanne, 65); Corbisiero (Murphy, 53), Paice (Buckland, 60), Lea'aetoa, Hudson, Casey (capt; Roche, 46), Danaher, S Armitage (Thorpe, 53), Hala'ufia

Tries Ojo, S Armitage, Danaher, Hewat, Corbisiero, Catt, Mapusua. Cons Hewat 4, Geraghty. Pen Hewat

Newcastle May; Visser, Noon, Tu'ipulotu, Rudd (Williams, 64); Clegg (Jones, 60), Grindal (Young, 46); Ward (D Wilson, h-t), Thompson (Vickers, h-t), Hayman, Parling, Sorenson, Dowson (capt), B Wilson, Balding (Williamson, 53)

Try Visser. Pen Clegg

Sin binYoung 56

Referee C Berdos (Fr). Attendance 10,978