Perry started his career in Europe with the Leicester Tigers in 1995. In 2003, he moved to Perpignan, the capital city of Catalunya Nord to play for USAP, the rugby equivalent of Barça in football terms. With USAP, he won the Top14 French Championship in 2009.
Last April 9, USAP came to Barcelona for the very first time to play their Heineken Cup quarter final game against Toulon. As you can see in the picture, the match was played in a real party atmosphere, where people from both north and south of the Catalan border got together to seal a brotherhood with roots in a common history, language and culture. More than 55,000 tickets were sold, a record for a Heineken Cup game, and it opened the door to a new tradition, that of USAP playing in Barcelona at least once a year.
The match was a tough one. USAP seemed astonished with the spectacular scenario of the Olympic Stadium filled with Catalan flags, and by the response of the fans, not only from Catalunya Nord, but from more than 15.000 followers in the south. Toulon, a team owned by a billionaire who signed lots of international figures, led by the English star Jonny Wilkinson, understood from the very beginning that Perpignan was the team that had to demonstrate their strength. It was not an easy task. The magical feet of Perpignan’s Jeroni Porical kept his team alive, but they saw the light at the end of the tunnel when replacement Freshwater appeared on the field. "Aiguafresca és al camp. S’ha acabat el bròquil!" said a fan in a Twitter message, which could be translated as "Freshwater is on. It’s all over now".
As if through prophecy, in a fantastic move, Freshwater followed Guilhem Guirado’s burst to score what proved to be the winning try.
Aiguafresca became the hero of a day that will be cherished in the memories of many present in Barcelona. It was a day when the brothers from Perpignan came to show us how to win a tough match.
