You can use @- and @+ to do this...see @-. 
if ( $text =~ m/cow\s+(jumped)\s+over/ ) {
    substr($text, $-[1], $+[1] - $-[1], "tripped");
}

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In reply to Re: Manipulating the Capture(s) of Regular Expressions by ysth
in thread Manipulating the Capture(s) of Regular Expressions by monarch

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