With injuries piling up ahead of Scotland’s final Six Nations match against Ireland, Vern Cotter has identified a solution to his selection problem. ‘We will play the Under-20s against them,’ said the Scotland head coach in his laconic, deadpan style. ‘We had eight players injured against England. How many are doubts for the Ireland match? All of them.’ Jim Hamilton, seen here tackling England's James Haskell, is one of five doubts for the Ireland game . Such was the despondent air hanging over the Scotland head coach as he spoke in the bowels of Twickenham on Saturday evening, he could be forgiven for thinking the worst at the time. Thankfully, a Scottish Rugby Union medical bulletin issued on Sunday suggested it was five players — not eight — who will require further treatment ahead of the match at BT Murrayfield. Second row Jim Hamilton, who had to come off for a time after being concussed in the first half, then had to be replaced following a back spasm, is the biggest doubt to face Ireland. Matt Scott suffered a ‘dead leg’ with bad bruising and now faces a race against time to be ready. Alasdair Dickinson has a leg injury he picked up in a tackle, winger Tommy Seymour an elbow problem and flanker Blair Cowan a calf strain. The walking wounded will be excused training on Monday, with an SRU spokesman saying the medical team will be working with them over the next few days to try to ensure they can put some work in before the final Six Nations match. Vern Cotter was downbeat after the defeat, which came with a heavy price in terms of personell . Others who Cotter thought were more seriously hurt, such as Finn Russell, David Denton and Euan Murray, should be fit. ‘We have been unlucky with injuries, which hasn’t helped us,’ said Cotter, who lost Alex Dunbar in the build-up to the Calcutta Cup encounter. ‘Everybody has to be patient. We can turn the corner, come back strong and do well against Ireland. ‘Right now, we have to take that defeat to England on the chin and keep working, analysing what went wrong, what went right and moving forward. ‘I thought there were some real positive aspects for us in our game at Twickenham but we have Ireland next week and they beat England — so it will be very tough test.’ Cotter continues to insist his side are ‘heading in the right direction’ despite a fourth Six Nations defeat and a likely wooden spoon. Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw takes a heavy hit as he brings down Ben Youngs during the narrow defeat . VIDEO O2 Inside Line: England v Scotland match review . He praised his players for battling back against England after losing a fourth-minute converted try from Jonathan Joseph. ‘England based their strategy on starting well and they did just that,’ added Cotter. ‘What I saw from our team after that pleased me. I saw great character. They didn’t panic, got themselves back into the match and I got a message down to them to say don’t worry about it. ‘They also showed they could change tactics when needed, which is a great thing. ‘On top of that, I thought our line-out defence and our scrum, after the first one, was very good. ‘If I thought we were being dominated from start to finish I might worry but I don’t think we are. There is more to come from this team, no question.’ Captain Greig Laidlaw was instrumental in dragging Scotland back in the face of England’s early onslaught. He inspired those around him with his leadership qualities. Laidlaw admitted Scotland needed to be more intelligent with the ball, but praised his team's spirit . He gave the backs quick ball and put over two penalties and a conversion in a top-class display. Laidlaw admitted. ‘England came flying out the blocks but, once that happened, we had to deal with it. ‘The response I got from the guys was calm and controlled. ‘From then on, we played some magnificent rugby until half-time. In the second half, a couple of times there was a bounce of the ball that maybe went against us and the game just went away from us a little bit. We should know when to offload and when to hold the ball. ‘When we did get into their half, we put little kicks through when we should have held the ball. We need to learn that Test-match rugby is won by small margins.’
Soctland lost eight men during defeat to England on Saturday . Five of those are doubtful for Ireland clash next weekend . Scotland have lost all four games so far, but Vern Cotter calls for patience .