Searing Australian heat and blustery conditions did little to hamper Mount Maunganui's pairing of Mike Watson and Sam O'Dea, who took gold at the Oceania Beach Volleyball Championships.

At Australia's spiritual home of beach volleyball, Manly Beach, the Kiwi pair were pushed to the full three sets by trans-Tasman rivals Joshua Court and Damien Schumann.

Sam O'Dea and Mike Watson in action. Photo: File.

The tournament - the country's first international competitions in six years - saw athletes from 12 countries, including Fiji, Vanuatu and New Zealand, playing as many as 10 games in three days.

In a post-match interview Watson says the pair are satisfied with how they played, and more importantly to have the gold medal around their necks.

He says; 'We have worked very hard in preparing for this tournament and to come out and play consistently at a high level is satisfying.

'We kept a high standard the whole way through. To get a victory here in such a great place, it means a lot.”

O'Dea admits managing to play consistently against a swirling wind proved the decisive factor, despite having a lack of experience in windy conditions.

'We don't get much practice in grandstands so it was really weird,” he adds. 'As soon as the ball went up about four feet it started swirling around a bit.

'But you get used to it and I think we really worked on that first touch controlling the ball and that got us through.”

To progress through to the finale, the self-funded pair, who secured their No1 national ranking by going undefeated on the domestic tour last season, got past Western Australians Casey Grice and Cole Durant.

Court and Schumann beat Kiwi's Tom Hartles (Auckland) and Rene Kapa (Whakatane).

And Watson says having O'Dea, at 197cm, producing some 'wall like” blocking is always a confidence boost.

He says; 'When Sam is on form like that I just have to sit back, not make any errors, and enjoy the ride.”

The pair will remain at Manly Beach for the week preparing for next weekend's Manly Grand Slam.