Tony Veitch: Jimmy Spithill the Ali of sailing

Jimmy Spithill. Photo / Sam Greenfield

I received a text from a bloke in Bermuda this week who is as close to the action as you get.

"Don't take seriously anything Jimmy Spithill says. It's done purely to wind up the New Zealand media. The more you report it, the more he will say."

I get it, Spithill is the Stephen Jones of the sailing world.

Yachting coach Ray Davies told me they just roll their eyes when Spithill's mouth goes into overdrive.

I like and loathe Spithill all at the same time. He's the master at putting the knife in, turning it and then digging it in even deeper.

After the comeback of all comebacks in San Francisco, Spithill was unbearable. When some questioned how Oracle suddenly became a rocket ship, Spithill's response was top shelf.

"That's an insult to those who made the sandwiches for this team, the families who gave up so much to allow this team of champions to produce one of the greatest comebacks in sport," he said.

You cannot rattle Spithill. He has an answer for everything and generally those answers are designed to unsettle his opponents.

He may be an annoyingly cocky Aussie who broke our hearts four years ago, but would the America's Cup be as much fun without Spithill mouthing off?

I take on board what the texter was saying but it's bloody hard to ignore the Spithill jibes.

In a world where so many athletes have had their personalities drained out by media minders and corporate image makers, the Oracle skipper is a walking, talking headline.

Can I dare suggest he ranks alongside the likes of Muhammad Ali as someone who can win with words?

So while the next couple of weeks could be painful if Oracle are as formidable as expected, if we are able to beat Oracle with Spithill at the helm, think how much sweeter it will be.

Kiwi rugby fans are perfectionists, not arrogant

We're still a week out from the first All Blacks-Lions test and most of the usual North v South rugby angles have already been churned out.

These include: Our hakas are offensive, Northern rugby is predictable and boring, and as a rugby public, we are arrogant.

We're accused of being unable to accept different styles, of being self-obsessed and immature.

I don't accept that the majority of Kiwi rugby fans are arrogant.

I see it another way - Kiwis expect the world from their men in black.

It's not enough to win by 10 or 15 points. With back-to-back World Cups, we're used to the All Blacks steamrolling teams.

I know from the experience of MCing tests in New Zealand for the past 15 years, I can tell when audiences return from a match flat and frustrated even when our team has won.

All Black rugby is so strong because from the coaches down, they push for perfection.

Yes, there are some who take their passion too far and use All Blacks success as a reason to behave like plonkers around foreign fans.

But they are the minority. Don't let anyone else confuse pride and passion for arrogance.

The happiest man on the planet

I really need to paint a picture of the moment 'Voice of Yachting' PJ Montgomery realised he was off to Bermuda to commentate another America's Cup. Seeing the joy on his face when Team New Zealand completed the job against Artemis was priceless. If anyone deserves to see the Auld Mug returned to New Zealand, it's PJ. He made a complicated sporting contest understandable.