New Zealand send Olympics warning after twin wins at Singapore Rugby Sevens

SINGAPORE: New Zealand secured double glory at the Singapore Rugby Sevens on Sunday (May 5), winning both the men's and women's tournaments to signal their Olympic intent with the Paris Games fast approaching.

New Zealand's men held off a determined challenge from Ireland to win 17-14 while their women's team surged to a 31-21 victory over Australia.

New Zealand raced into an early 10-0 lead in the men's final with tries by Leroy Carter and Fehi Fineanganofo, but Gavin Mullin narrowed the deficit for the Irish just before the interval.

Dylan Collier restored New Zealand's 10-point cushion in the second half but Harry McNulty's response set up a tense finale.

The All Blacks held on for their second World Rugby Sevens Series win in a row after their success in Hong Kong last month.

New Zealand forward Tone Ng Shiu said his team were building momentum for the series grand final in Madrid and the Paris Olympics in July.

"We started off slow in the world series this year but now we're just building up to the Olympics, taking it one tournament at a time," he said.

"Two wins in a row - you've got to be happy with that," added Ng Shiu, who was in the New Zealand side that took the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

"We know there's a bit of pressure to get that gold medal.

"We tried two times and we weren't quite there. So hopefully we can embrace the pressure at the next tournament and build for the Olympics."

Argentina were crowned men's series winners after they recovered from a 10-point deficit to beat South Africa 14-10 in the fifth-place playoff.

The South Americans won tournaments earlier this season in Cape Town, Perth and Vancouver to top the table with 106 points, two points ahead of the second-placed Irish.

Great Britain bounced