They secured permission to use the all-weather pitch at Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys, because of continued flooding at St Mark’s.
The contest was held on Friday night under lights – and was itself a re-arranged match after the Chiswick side’s previous visit was postponed due to the floods.
Wells knew that one more win would see them mathematically safe from the drop, and their defence was to prove outstanding all game long.
They were set on their way with a penalty try after five minutes, as Stags wheeled the scrum under pressure near their own line.
On 18 minutes Richard Webster intercepted a pass and galloped clear from 40 metres to score, though Croft’s conversion slipped wide.
In injury time at the end of the first half, a superb delayed pass by Ryan Taylor-Dennehy put Webster clear and he scored again from 20 metres out. The conversion was missed, and Wells went in at the interval 17-0 ahead.
On 53 minutes the visitors’ Taylor-Dennehy gathered a wayward pass, and made 40 metres before handing over to the electric Max Hobbs to cover the final 30 metres, score an unconverted try, and secure the bonus point.
Two minutes later they scored again when Mike Doherty left the full-back floundering in trademark fashion and crossed under the posts, Ollie Allman converting.
On the hour Wells lost Matt Spicer to the sin-bin when an attempted interception was adjudged to have been a deliberate knock-on.
Despite being a man down, Mike Doherty stepped through the defence again for his second try after 68 minutes, Allman adding the extras.
The home side held firm for the last 10 minutes to record their first clean sheet since an 85-0 victory over Dover in April 2017. Wells remain in seventh place, a point behind Sevenoaks.
They now host Wimbledon at St Mark’s on Saturday (March 14, kick-off 3pm).
