IT SAYS much for the horrors that Scotland have visited upon us during this Six Nations that a 34-13 defeat in Dublin almost felt uplifting. Frank Hadden’s team were never going to finish ahead on points, or any other meaningful count, but at least they managed a couple of punches on their way to the floor. You worry, though, about what state a bigger, uglier opponent than Ireland might have left them in.

Next up are England, the very definition of big and ugly, and of further concern to Scotland is that a thirst for retribution will inform these giants’ thoughts and deeds. England were shown up as well as seen off the last time they came to Edinburgh, their one gear and one dimension allowing Scotland to win the game without launching a single serious attack. Not that English thrusts were any better or more regular. It took the home defence to die of boredom before wing Ben Cohen got a glimpse of the line, whereupon he gormlessly dropped the ball as if attempting to capture his side’s paucity in a single gesture.

Fifteen of the 18 Scottish points were kicked by Chris Paterson’s right boot, a trend that has followed through the good, the bad, and the downright ugly of the ensuing two years. The balance between these three states has been distressingly skewed even by Scottish standards, meaning Hadden goes into this week’s match requiring a big result as opposed to simply wanting one.

The Dublin defeat was his seventh in eight Six Nations games, and Simon Webster’s try only the second Scotland have managed in their past half-dozen outings. When the Calcutta Cup was last contested round these parts, Hadden was settling into the chair. Now he has a fortnight to stop himself being levered out of it – although another win over England would represent a leap, not a mere step, back from the brink. As one member of Hadden’s squad put it rather melodramatically late last week, a victory would be “as big as winning a Grand Slam for us”.

Scotland could be just as full of heart and guts as they were in 2006, but England simply cannot be so light on gumption. Even if the pattern of the game is similar, its result would surely be significantly different. England now know to play to their strengths; the direction and directness of their intimidating front-five forwards.

Scotland can only win the one way they know how. In Rory Lamont and whichever one of Nikki Walker, Simon Webster or even Simon Danielli lines up on the other wing, they have pace, power and cleverness out wide, and in Paterson, who must be retained at fly-half, a man with the technical resources to indulge them. Let’s have Walker, Webster or Danielli charging hard, flat and fearless at Lesley Vainikolo instead of the other way round. Let’s have runners coming on to the ball at pace and in flight, not the wary statues we so often got in Dublin.

Most importantly, let’s have Scots who aren’t just grateful to be in a game, but who look like they know how to win it. There were times in the opening quarter at Croke Park when it seemed to be enough for certain players that Scotland had stopped bleeding, when the emphasis should instead have been on starting to make cuts. More ruthless, more confident teams would have had at least one score to show for 20 minutes of concerted possession.

Scotland’s overall approach, far removed from the aimless drudgery of the France and Wales defeats, should stay the same; it is the execution that must improve. In terms of personnel, Hadden faces the toughest decision of his tenure. At blindside flanker, he must choose whether to go with Alasdair Strokosch, a young gun who is firing, or Jason White, an older head whose talent has been repeatedly articulated, but who this year looked out of sorts even before suffering concussion in Cardiff.

There is a belief matters may be about to come full circle for the coach. By winning the Calcutta Cup two years ago, he struck a large nail into the coffin of Andy Robinson’s England reign. Heavy defeat on Saturday, by contrast, would intensify calls for Robinson, hugely impressive so far at Edinburgh, to replace him. To avoid being lost to Scotland’s future, Hadden needs a win in the here and now.