Owens has been in impressive form at the head of the Welsh pack, and interim head coach Howley says his star performances have not gone unnoticed.
He said: “Ken has been outstanding. When you look at a hooker in terms of the set piece, he is very accurate, he ball carries well, gets to the gain line, and makes good decisions.
“He has certainly put his hand up for one of the tours at the end of the season and he gives players confidence around him.”
Howley reckons the Scarlets combination between lock Jake Ball and Owens has been pivotal to Wales’ consistency at the set piece.
“He has a great relationship with Jake who calls the line-outs,” revealed Howley.
“It is very effective. Ken is a great senior player with experience. He leads when he needs to and is quiet if needs be too. That is a huge advantage for us when it comes to making decisions.”
Owens follows Ospreys flanker Justin Tipuric, who brought up his half-century in the 22-9 victory over Ireland last Friday, in reaching the 50-cap milestone.
And captain Jones echoed his coach’s thoughts on the hooker and shed some light on what it is like to play against the Scarlets man.
Jones said: “He can give confidence to others. We have had our tussles together at regional level, with him captaining the Scarlets and me captaining the Ospreys.
“I’d like to think we have a mutual respect. Having played in some tasty encounters, it is nice to have the opportunity to play with him here.
“The accuracy at the set piece gives us the opportunity to free our backline which helps the team attack. His growth has been immeasurable over the past 12 to 18 months.”
Owens will be aiming to inspire Wales to a sixth-straight win over the French in Paris this weekend.
Howley’s side also have the extra incentive of sealing an all-important fourth place in the world rankings ahead of Rugby World Cup draw in May.
Follow all the build-up to France against Wales on the WRU live blog by clicking here.
