Wigglesworth lifted Sale as he took control and almost masterminded a try - his quick break from a scrum saw Hodgson offload to Chris Bell but he could only knock on.
Sales's other try scorers were Chris Bell, Ben Cohen, Chris Jones, Rob Miller and Chris Leck, recalled stand-off Charlie Hodgson landing three out of his five pots at goal before the break.
The Exiles replied when number eight Chris Hala'ufia knocked Richard Haughton out of his path before sending Hodgson in, before the two sides exchanged penalties, with Payne being shown a yellow card for going offside to hand Irish their opportunity.