A cricketer, at Millfield School Perry captained a side including Ben Hollioake, later an England international.

[7] He played in eight of Bath's nine matches in their winning 1997–98 Heineken Cup campaign, being omitted only from the final against Brive in Bordeaux in favour of Jon Callard, where he was named as a replacement.

[8][9][10] England coach Clive Woodward, selected Perry for his first match in charge against Australia in the autumn 1997.

[21] A back injury saw him dropped from the England squad for Iain Balshaw; he later made way for both Jason Robinson and Josh Lewsey.

He was forced to withdraw from the 2004 Zurich Premiership final due to a calf strain sustained in the pre-match warm-up.

[24] A bulging disc in Perry's back resulted in spasms and sciatic damage in his left leg, and he retired from playing rugby on 27 March 2007.