George Ford is making up for lost time. According to at least one former England coach, the fly-half who left Leicester in the summer to get out of the shadow of Toby Flood is already within touching distance of an England shirt.

Brian Smith, the London Irish director of rugby but less than two years ago England's attack coach, was positively purring when he analysed the 20-year-old's role in the dismantling of his side at The Rec on Saturday. "I'm telling you George Ford is on fire right now," said Smith, suggesting that Ford may even make Stuart Lancaster's squad for the November Tests against Australia, Argentina and New Zealand.

"He's tearing up trees at 10 and England are lucky to have him. George has a lot of control, you can see the way players rally round him, he's a class act. If he keeps playing like this, I don't think England can ignore him for too long."

Another England coach from the Smith era was a little less enthusiastic, confining himself to "It's not all about George. We have lots of people in that back line who can excel." But then again Mike Ford, once England's defence coach and now Bath's head coach, is George's father. Nevertheless even he conceded that Ford Jr was on the right track.

"To be fair to him he's making good decisions," he said after his son had revealed there is romance as well as pragmatism in his repertoire. Ford proved at Leicester that he could run games but on Saturday he went further, showing vision enough to take them by the scruff of the neck plus the pace to go 65 metres for what is certain to be one of the individual tries of the season.

From deep in the Bath half the fly-half side-stepped his way through the London Irish defence, handing off the 18st prop Mike Parr, before rounding the former Ireland scrum-half Tomas O'Leary and showing enough speed to keep his distance from Marland Yarde, one of the favourites to be on England's wing in the autumn.

When the fly-half carried Yarde and the other Irish wing Alex Lewington over the line with him, it also suggested Ford has put on muscle since leaving Leicester. "He knows when to run, pass and kick, has some pace and is surprisingly strong," said Peter Stringer, who partnered Ford in a side who looked measurably stronger than the one blown away by Saracens six days earlier.

Stringer, who boasts 98 caps as well as numerous European campaigns with the double Heineken champions Munster, also confirmed that Ford has the maturity to control games at the highest level. "I want a voice outside of me and currently that's George and he does it well," said Stringer, who is clearly enjoying playing alongside a fly-half 16 years his junior.

Ford had a hand in all of Bath's five first-half tries but the blossoming link with Stringer was best shown in the making of Guy Mercer's first. Stringer spotted the vacant acres on London Irish's left, threaded a precise kick before Ford hounded Topsy Ojo into conceding the throw. Then, with Irish still claiming it was their ball, the fly-half found Mercer and the flanker went over unopposed.

"It wasn't pre-planned and, if George called, it was for a pass," Stringer said, "but I saw the space and knew that was the line he'd be running."

There were plenty of errors to go with the skills but Ford, already a Saxon, must be looking for his first full cap with England. This performance eclipsed that of a former England fly-half, Shane Geraghty, who scored two tries and all London Irish's points, and, although Ford is in the queue behind Owen Farrell (16 caps), Flood (57), and Freddie Burns (three), he looks on track to become, at least by the start of the World Cup in less than two years, the most complete of all the packages.

Bath Watson (Devoto, 16); Rokoduguni, Joseph, Eastmond (Biggs, 75), Banahan; Ford, Stringer (Roberts, 70); James (Perenise, 60), Webber (Batty, 67), Wilson (Palma-Newport, 68), Day (Fa'osiliva, h-t), Attwood (capt, Hooper, 6), Garvey, Mercer, Houston.

Tries Joseph, Mercer 2, Ford, Webber Cons Ford 4.

London Irish Ojo; Yarde, Mulchrone, Sheridan, Lewington; Geraghty , O'Leary (capt, Allinson, 68); Parr (Yapp, h-t), Paice, Halavatau (Hagan, h-t), Rouse (Gough, 53), Sinclair (Evans, 53), Danaher (Cowan, h-t), Low, Treviranus.

Tries Geraghty 2 Con Geraghty Pens Geraghty 2.

Sin-bin Paice 40, Hagan 57.

Referee L Pearce (Devon) Attendance 11,917.