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Sam Thaiday has been passed fit to face England in Sundays Four Nations clash at the London Olympic Stadium after passing a fitness test on his injured knee.The veteran forward sustained the problem against New Zealand last week and was rated as 50-50 to play against the hosts but coach Mal Meninga said having Thaiday at his disposal means hell have his best possible 17 available to him.Sams fine and thats exciting, well have our full strength side on the field, Meninga said.Were looking forward to putting on a good performance and better executing what we have done in the last two games.Skipper Cameron Smith said Thaidays inclusion is a huge boost ahead of what he expects to be the toughest match of the tour against a side desperate to end a decade-long wait for a victory over the Kangaroos.A win or a draw for England will ensure they face Australia, who are already through to the final after Scotlands shock draw with New Zealand on Friday in Workington.Its important for us. Hes in our best 17 and hes had a great tour so far, Smith said.Hes great for the squad with the type of character he is. The most important thing is that hes a great footy player.Smith believes Wayne Bennett will have England primed for this match after two underwhelming displays against the Kiwis and Scotland in their opening two matches.Theyve got a bit of a sniff now after Scotlands draw, Smith said.The talk all week was by how much, but now they just have to win to be in the final. Thats probably a bit of extra motivation for their side.But take away what happened last night ... Wayne would have had these guys geared up for a solid performance.England or Great Britain havent beaten Australia for 10 years and London has historically been a happy hunting ground against the tourists in the past.In 1990 and 1994 two powerful Kangaroos sides were put to the sword and Smith said he is expecting a ferocious battle.Traditionally the Kangaroos havent done so well in London, he said.History shows we havent had good results here. This side will be out to change that.Kangaroos team: Darius Boyd, Valentine Holmes, Greg Inglis, Josh Dugan, Blake Ferguson, Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk, Matt Scott, Cameron Smith, Aaron Woods, Matt Gillett, Boyd Cordner, Trent Merrin. Interchange: David Klemmer, Tyson Frizell, Sam Thaiday, Michael Morgan. Authentic Arden Key Jersey . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. Authentic Raiders China Jerseys . 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RIO DE JANEIRO -- The kids who took swings in a hitting bay set up near the entrance to the Olympic Golf Course probablly have no idea the identities of Justin Rose and Inbee Park, the gold-medal winners at the mens and womens golf events that began with so much angst and ended with so much glory.They were but a small part of the Olympic golf mission, but an important one going forward, the idea that inspiring youth in non-traditional golf markets might one day lead to proficient players, if not gold-medal winners.Those kids might not have even known the Brazilian golfers competing in the fields over the past two weeks, but they were exposed to golf. And wasnt that the point?Golf took a wobbly step onto the Olympic stage less than two weeks ago and emerged standing tall rather than slinking off the podium. The tournaments were a hit with locals, sponsors, television and a worldwide audience that might not have ever watched a golf tournament. There are issues to be worked out for sure; nothing is perfect.But considering all the negativity that the sport of golf dragged to Rio -- along with the number of no-shows on the mens side that threatened golfs future in the Games -- those who championed this endeavor leave Brazil glowing with pride.Its exceeded all my expectations, said Paul McGinley, the 2014 European Ryder Cup captain who served as a group leader for both the mens and womens Irish players at the Olympics. Ive gone on record for more than a year about how important golf is in the Olympics and why we should embrace it and why it shouldnt be insulated.Golf in many circles has been insulated. This has been a chance for us to dine at the top table of sport. Why are we not embracing the Olympics? And Ive been proved right. Maybe it took them some time to see it. The ladies really embraced it after the men did. The cream rose to the top at both tournaments. It shows you how both sets of players were motivated by who was here. How they got into the spirit and how they got emotionally attached to trying to represent their country and their sport.Much of the mood changed at a Tuesday news conference before the start of the mens competition. Americans Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar were engaging, funny, self-deprecating and obviously keen to enjoy their time in Rio.It was a refreshing and somewhat surprising outlook and it carried on throughout the event. Watson became a de facto ambassador for Olympic golf, and the mood was altered.This is an absolute thrill of a lifetime, Watson said after he tied for eighth. This is the greatest sporting event Ive ever been a part of and associated with, and its a thrill of a lifetime. The Masters, I get the Masters for the rest of my life (because he has won the tournament), but its just golf. Theres no other events going on. And when you talk about a sporting event, this is a dream come true and to be part of it, its the greatest event Ive ever been a part of.It helped considerably that the mens competition was excellent. Major champions Rose of Great Britain and Henrik Stenson of Sweden battled on the final day, tied on the 18th tee, with Rose prevailing by hitting a perfect pitch shot to set up a birdie.Stenson, who won The Open last month, took the silver medal, and American Matt Kuchar, who shot a final-round 63, snagged bronze.The photo of them on the medal stand was one of pure joy. And Rose got a heros welcome when he arrived at the London airport after his victory.The reception globally has been astonishing, said Mark Steinberg, who is Roses agent. The reception he is receiving locally within the UK, its astonishing to even Justin who is wearing a gold medal around his neck. He just cant believe the amount of people who are reaching out to him that maybe dont sit and watch golf on a Saturday and Sunday.Maybe you attribute that to the Olympic rings. Anything you want to attribute it to. Its been an astonishing appeal. Its just so great for these guys to get that type of response.Steinberg also represents Kuchar, and his phone has been ringing with potential endorsement possibilities for both medal winners. He also had three other players in the mens tournament.There were clearly some agents who were in their players ears about not coming to Rio, but Steinberg was not one of them.ddddddddddddHe encouraged his players to compete (he swears his long-time client, Tiger Woods would have embraced it and loved it had he been eligible) and made the trip to Rio himself.I commend the officials for promoting this as much as they did even when they were getting the negativity, said Steinberg of the International Golf Federation, which was made up of executives from the R&A, PGA Tour, USGA and other organizations. They stuck to their guns and I think it turned out maybe in their eyes as expected and in most eyes better than expected.It was electric out there. There was so much patriotic cheering for the player who hit a shot and the countrymen and women in the field. But it wasnt Ryder Cup or Presidents [Cup] where it was a bit more antagonistic. This was unabashed rooting for a player from their country. And a little bit more quiet, but not negative for the other players in the group. That really gave it an Olympic feel.There was never much doubt that this would be a festive and welcome occasion for the women golfers. They fretted over how the defections among the top-ranked men might hurt the overall Olympic effort for golf, but were happy to see the turnaround by those in attendance.Americans Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller both spoke passionately about competing here, what it meant to them, the uniqueness of the opportunity. And having a Hall of Famer in Park take home the gold certainly did nothing to detract from the occasion.Honestly anything that happens is icing on the cake, said LPGA commissioner Mike Whan during the tournament. The Olympic movement has become crystal clear to me. We roll into a lot of countries, especially in Asia, and they have a term called podium sports. Youre either a sport or a podium sport. If youre a podium sport, that means someday somebody might be standing on a podium with their flag representing their country. And those podium sports get funded. They are funded on team programs, coaches, access to facilities.Ive seen podium sports change golf now. Theyre getting government funding. If youre a young kid, because it is a podium sport, there are opportunities that might not have been there five or six years ago. Thats the movement. What it means to our sport is already happening, its already impacted womens golf.To keep that kind of impact, however, golf has to remain in the Games beyond 2020 in Tokyo. And there was great fear that gol