| Billy Scannell | |
| Birth Date: | 1999 9, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Cork, Ireland |
| Weight: | 96kg (212lb) |
| Ru Position: | Hooker |
| Amatteam1: | Young Munster |
| Amatyears2: | 2022– |
| Amatteam2: | Cork Constitution |
| Years1: | 2020–2022 |
| Clubs1: | Biarritz |
| Apps1: | 2 |
| Points1: | 5 |
| Years2: | 2021–2022 |
| Clubs2: | → Stade Lagonnais (loan) |
| Apps2: | 11 |
| Points2: | 0 |
| Clubupdate: | 10 April 2022 |
| Repyears1: | 2019 |
| Repteam1: | Ireland U20 |
| Repcaps1: | 1 |
| Reppoints1: | 0 |
| Ru Ntupdate: | 22 February 2019 |
| Relatives: | Niall Scannell (brother) Rory Scannell (brother) Jack O'Sullivan (cousin) Donal O'Sullivan (grandfather) |
Billy Scannell (born 16 September 1999) is an Irish rugby union player. He plays as a hooker.
Born in Cork, Scannell is the younger brother of Munster players Niall and Rory and a cousin of Jack O'Sullivan. His grandfather is Donal O'Sullivan, who captained Cork to the 1956 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final.[1] Scannell first began playing rugby for Douglas RFC, but switched to Cork Constitution at under-12 level, where his older brothers were already on the books. He attended Presentation Brothers College, Cork and won a Munster Schools Rugby Senior Cup in 2017, in a side that was captained by his cousin Jack.[2] Scannell also captained the school's senior side, and started for Ireland under-18s in all three of their tests against Italy, England and Wales.[3]
After finishing school in 2018, Scannell entered Munster's sub-academy and began playing in the amateur All-Ireland League with Limerick club Young Munster.[4]
Scannell was overlooked for promotion to Munster's academy, so instead, at the age of 19, he signed a two-year academy contract with French club Biarritz ahead of the 2019–20 season. The deal meant that Scannell would train full-time with the club's senior squad, whilst initially playing matches for the espoirs, or under-23s, side.[4] He made his senior competitive debut for the club in their 2019–20 Pro D2 round 20 fixture away to Vannes on 14 February 2020.[5] Scannell joined Fédérale 1 club Stade Lagonnais on loan for the 2021–22 season.[6]
Having previously represented Ireland at under-18 and under-19 level, Scannell made his debut for Ireland under-20s in their 34–14 win against Italy on 22 February 2019 during the 2019 Six Nations Under 20s Championship.[7] Ireland went on to win a grand slam in that year's tournament.[4]