Hi ZeroD,
You said,
"Remember, we came second, the rest of the world didn't even get close .... 
"
It was the rest of the world that beat NZ. NZ was racing against not just USA but Australia, Britain, NZ and others.
To beat USA a country has to also whip them in the court rooms as well.
If NZ had won USA would have taken the match into a legal battle, as has happened before.
Cheers