Seeing the Kiwis win the Louis Vuitton Cup from the Emirates Team New Zealand spectator boat today was one of those experiences I won’t forget. Part of what made it so memorable was the impression – which the Kiwis happily emphasise – that it is a campaign whose biggest resources are hard work and ingenuity.

An expression they seem to use a lot of is ‘the No. 8 wire’. This, I believe, is a type of fencing that any Kiwi farmer worth his salt can fashion and improvise to fix any problem. It’s the spirit of frugal invention and resourcefulness.

New Zealanders justifably point to what they have achieved in Valencia with huge national pride. They feel they came to Europe as an underdog on a budget dwarfed by some of the other teams but that the No. 8 wire is winning out over money.

Until this week, I’m told that national expectations have been largely reined in but today Kiwi supporters were at last allowing themselves to believe that this attitude can carry the Cup back to Auckland.