Scotland coach Frank Hadden is c onvinced his players are "equipped" to win the RBS Six Nations Championship.

His team go to Lansdowne Road on Saturday level on points with England, France and Ireland at the top of the table following their thrilling Calcutta Cup triumph last week.

Hadden, who makes two changes to his starting lineup with Nathan Hines and Scott Murray replacing Scott MacLeod and Alastair Kellock, is confident more success will follow.

He said: "The main reason we are equipped to win the championship is because it's so short.

"That gives everybody a chance and if you play well on the day you've got every right to expect you've got a chance."

Hadden believes his players have every reason to be upbeat going into their final games against Ireland and Italy, having beaten England at Murrayfield last Saturday.

"It was fantastic for all the guys," he continued.

"People perhaps say let's not get too excited about beating England but let's not forget they are the reigning world champions. We have a right to be excited about it."

The former Edinburgh coach claims his side have never shown as much quality in training as they have this week.

That is what gives him the belief they can end their retched run against Eddie O'Sullivan's men in Dublin.

"We can win because of what we have done," said Hadden.

"Yesterday was the best 15 v 15 session we have had since we started and the play-ers are now getting really familiar with what we are trying to do.

"In the early weeks they were wondering where they should be whereas now they know what to do.

"We are really confident we will get better and obviously done very good things up to now.

"If you are confident of getting better then you have every right to go to Lansdowne Road with a level of expectation.

"You just can't predict what's going to happen in these extremely exciting occasions but just to know now we have a chance to win is a comfortable place to be."

Hadden added: "We haven't beaten them away for eight years and we haven't beaten them at home for a while. But the great thing about it is we firmly believe we can win this weekend.

"We also believe the thousands of spectators who will be heading over for a fantastic trip to Dublin this weekend will be travelling, not just in hope, but with a fair bit of expectation from the performances we have produced so far."

Hadden deliberated about the reintroduction of Hines and Murray, who was suspended having been sent off against Wales, for days but he has opted to go for experience.

"I thought about it a long time," he continued.

"At the end of the day it came down to the fact the two locks we have chosen are the two most experienced guys we could lay our hands on.

"Winning at home is not the same as winning away and for that certain qualities are required, not least in the preparation, but also the in terms of experience."

But Hadden denied he had dropped Borders lock MacLeod over his move to Llanelli.

He said: "I can't confirm that has happened but I have heard that chat and that had nothing to do with us. There's ongoing discussions in that area."

Borders hooker Ross Ford will undergo an intensive period of physiotherapy following a scan on the knee injury suffered during the 20-8 win over Glasgow at Firhill on March 3.

Hadden concluded: "He will be out for seven to eight weeks with a medial ligament problem and because of that he will be getting treatment on an unrelated cartilage injury which he has been carrying for a wee while."