England Saxons boss Stuart Lancaster hailed a "first-class" performance by senior squad reject Shane Geraghty after his team's victory over Ireland A in Bath.

Northampton fly-half Geraghty scored a try, booted two conversions and kicked a late penalty in the Saxons' hard-fought 17-13 win.

Geraghty started two of England's autumn Tests – at inside centre – against Australia and Argentina, but was then dropped for the final November appointment with New Zealand after struggling in those matches.

And he failed to gain a place in England manager Martin Johnson's revised elite squad earlier this month.

But Geraghty showed his quality as the Saxons saw off an Irish outfit who crushed them 49-22 in last summer's Churchill Cup final in Denver.

"Shane's contribution was first class," said Lancaster, whose squad now go on to face Italy A in Treviso on Sunday. "He was always going to start at 10 in this game. He is someone whose progress I have followed closely, and I think he has grown up a lot, both as a player and as a person.

"He has got self-confidence, and I am really pleased for him.

"He is in a very competitive position at 10 – Jonny Wilkinson and Toby Flood are not poor players – and Shane needs to build his overall game.

"But he has got that innate ability to develop and finish things when gaps open up."

Ireland A dominated much of the territory, especially during a final quarter when their substitute flanker Chris Henry touched down barely 60 seconds after Saxons prop Paul Doran-Jones had been sin-binned. But their only other points came from two Paddy Wallace penalties and a conversion as England prevailed through Geraghty's contribution and an early David Strettle try.

Lancaster added: "It is nice to turn the tables on that Churchill Cup result.

"Irish rugby has been going very well, both internationally and provincially, so that is a fantastic win for us."