The Scots sit bottom of the table ahead of the Calcutta Cup clash at Murrayfield on March 8, when they must face an England side who are back in contention for the title following their impressive win in Paris.

Another Wooden Spoon could be looming, and Scotland’s misery in Dublin was exacerbated by a suspected broken leg for Leicester lock James Hamilton, who was carried off in the closing stages.

But Hadden maintains there were signs of progress and believes Scotland can cause an upset if they show more composure and maturity against the Auld Enemy.

“We are still sitting here thinking we have got no reason to fear England,” he said.

“We are not getting out-muscled, it’s not as if teams are running rings round us. We are making some immature errors in important areas of the pitch.

“I keep referring to immaturity and then we get another injury and the squad gets even younger.

“I don’t think there is any problem about getting up to play England. I am very confident we can do that special thing for our fans at Murrayfield.

“We don’t see anybody in this championship as hugely daunting - but we know we have to rise to the challenge and make some progress.”

Scotland did show more attacking intent in the Irish capital than during their defeats against France and Wales - and dominated possession and territory in the first half.

Ireland barely got out of their own half in the first 10 minutes but the difference between the teams was evident when David Wallace crossed during the home side’s first decent attack to break the deadlock in the 22nd minute.

Rob Kearney soon grabbed a second but Scotland fought back and were three times repelled on the line in the closing stages of the half, before Nathan Hines got a Scotland penalty reversed when he appeared to aim a punch at Denis Leamy.

That prevented Chris Paterson kicking his third penalty to reduce the half-time deficit to five points, and Tommy Bowe scored the first of his two tries less than 40 seconds into the second period.

Hadden rued those key moments, as well as poor lineouts in the Ireland 22.

“It was a stupid thing that Nathan shouldn’t have done, but he didn’t hit anyone,” Hadden said.

“He went to grab the ball, albeit with a flailing arm. He made an exaggerated grab for the ball.

“At half-time we still felt we had a really good chance. But we fumbled from the kick-off and they had another seven points on the board. That made it a huge mountain to climb.

“There have been situations in all the games we have played where the game could have turned somewhere. That’s the disappointment - we are not making the most of these opportunities.”

As well as Hamilton’s serious injury, Scotland will assess fitness problems for three other players who went off needing treatment.

Kelly Brown and Euan Murray suffered rib injuries while Scott MacLeod damaged a shoulder.