Jones, who made his international debut in 2016 and made an immediate impact, was left out of the Scotland squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and wasn't involved at all between March 2021 and February 2023. But Jones is back in favour and playing as well as ever and he'll win his 50th cap when Scotland take on Uruguay in Montevideo this evening.
"I'm really excited to be getting my 50th cap," Jones said. "It's been a long journey with lots of ups and downs. It's obviously a huge honour to play for your country once, any time, so to be able to do it 50 times is a massive privilege.
"I'm super proud with what I've achieved in my career and to get to this point. When I first came into the squad, my first few caps came quite quickly and it seemed quite straightforward but then you get a few setbacks, a couple of injuries, a couple of times when you don't get selected, and it really makes you appreciate it a lot more.
"I'll never take for granted getting picked in a squad or getting picked for a game at the weekend. With all the setbacks I've had and with extended periods when I wasn't even making training squads, and when I'd probably got to the point where I thought I'd maybe played my last game for Scotland, to turn it round and have this run of playing consistently over the last two years has been absolutely amazing.
"To reach 50 caps has been a goal of mine for a while. Obviously a few years ago it didn't seem realistic, so to get to this point is amazing."
Jones will start alongside Glasgow team-mate Stafford McDowall on Saturday and the former admits his return to the Warriors from Harlequins helped his revival in fortunes.
"I came back to Glasgow after a year away and having not really been in the Scotland set-up, but I think the squad and the coaching we have at Glasgow really suits me," said Jones.
"I feel I've become a better player over the last two years and I feel I've still got more to give and more to improve on over the next two years of this contract.
"At this point my career is going pretty well so I thought, 'why change that?' and that was a big reason I decided to stay."