My Life in Rugby: Matt Perry – former Bath, England and Lions full-back

I squeezed every last drop out of my body for England which is probably why I played my last international match at just 24. But looking back I wouldn’t change anything about the way I played the game even if it did force me to retire young.
There’s no doubt I was an idiot at times but I loved putting everything on the line for my team. From my first days in Bath that was the biggest thing I learned and if you were prepared to sacrifice everything that was how you got the respect of your teammates.
I remember rocking up on my first day at a time when Bath were the best team in England.
You turn up to train alongside guys like Jerry Guscott, Graham Dawe, Martin Haag and Phil de Glanville and it really is a case of sink or swim.
In my first training session I got a boot in the face when trying to tackle Guscott and went off to get stitched up.
Some of the guys didn’t expect to see me again but I made sure I was back out  by the end of the session.
Earning the respect of my teammates was the most important thing. It wasn’t about a handshake or praise, there was just a look and you knew.
From the start that team ethic was vital, and that’s why despite being quite slight I made sure I always threw myself into everything.
My transition from Bath thirds to the international stage came pretty quickly. I wasn’t the quickest but I knew my footballing ability  differentiated me.
I made my debut for the Bath first team playing in the centre alongside Phil de Glanville in 1995.
I’d been a fly-half  at school before moving to centre at Bath.
Two years later in 1997 Sir Clive Woodward picked me for England and asked me to play full-back and that is pretty much where I stayed.
My first game was against Australia at Twickenham and you only had to look at their lineup with Tim Horan, George Gregan and Stephen Larkham in the backline to know how good they were.
I  came through it and got the man of the match award in a draw and we drew with New Zealand a few weeks later.
Under Sir Clive you realised it was the start of something a bit different. He wasn’t going to be stopped by anything and it’s a shame what he tried to install wasn’t continued.
In my four or five years with England there were a lot of changes but I was incredibly proud to be part of the Lions tour to Australia in 2001.
We went there with three really talented full-backs in Iain Balshaw, Jason Robinson and myself.
I was fortunate enough to start each of the three Tests which remains a real highlight for me.
Even if the result didn’t go our way in the end I’d given so much to be there and while some people might not have enjoyed the best tour I loved it.
Unfortunately that was my last appearance on the international stage because of a back injury.
I ran the ball up and got hit with my upper body going left and lower body going right.
After that I never gotback beyond 80 percent although I managed to keep playing until 2006.
Since then I’ve been involved in a little coaching, something I’d like to get more involved with but I need to find time around what I do with the company I work for, Monitise.