Ireland's show jumpers rewrote the record books yesterday, scoring an unprecedented simultaneous Nations Cup double in Sweden and Belgium to increase the winning tally to five successes in the past month.

The quartet of Cian O'Connor, Lieut Shane Carey, Cameron Hanley and Captain Gerry Flynn had claimed both the Helsinki and Drammen Nations Cups last month and yesterday the same team made it three in a row with victory at the Swedish fixture in Falsterbo.

Flynn, who filled the role of anchorman so brilliantly in both the Finnish and Norwegian rounds, maintained his form and produced a superb double clear - one of only two in the competition - with the mare Rincoola Abu.

Flynn had solid back-up from 20-year-old O'Connor, who faulted once in the first round and was clear at the second attempt with Normandy, and from his fellow Army rider, Carey, who put in two four-faulters with Shannondale.

Ireland had shared the lead with Sweden after the first round, with both teams on eight faults. The Germans were fractionally off the pace on 81/4.

The Swedish challenge dwindled in the second round to drop the home side to third at the finish, but the Germans fought back strongly, only to be pipped at the post by a quarter of a time fault.

The winning margin in Lummen, Belgium, was of far more comfortable dimensions, with the team of Billy Twomey, Dermot Lennon, Neal Fearon and Robert Splaine scoring a runaway victory to finish with three fences in hand of the French runners-up.

The Irish were ahead at the break, despite Splaine's discard score of eight faults. Splaine sat out the second round, but both Lennon and Fearon were clear after faulting once in the first round.

Last man in Twomey, who had already gone clear at the first attempt, could have hit two fences and still been on the winning team. But the super stallion Conquest II was clear yet again to leave Ireland out in front by a distance.

Ireland's final tally was eight faults, with France slotting into second on 20 and the Dutch a further fence adrift in third.

These superb results follow on from the Irish victory at the Pavarotti show in Modena four weeks ago and the Helsinki and Drammen successes to give Ireland an unprecedented five Nations Cup wins so far this season.

The Army teams of the 1930s had held the previous record of four wins in a year, a feat they achieved four years running between 1935 and 1938. But five wins - and particularly two on one day - is a new record.

Yesterday's historic double now puts Ireland even further ahead in the Nations Cup league and guarantees a slot at the Samsung finals in Rome two weeks after the rest of the world returns from the Olympics.

The Irish selectors decided in May that no team would travel to Sydney, stating that our show jumpers lacked strength in depth. Then just two weeks ago, Peter Charles and Jessica Kurten - who had been nominated for the Games as individuals - backed out to save their firepower for the Nations Cup circuit and leave Ireland with no show jumpers in Sydney.

The teams that are now doing the winning seem determined to show the selectors that they have both strength and depth. Two wins in a day and a new Irish record certainly proves the point.