diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender.go
index e6ba512af22c..b66c28214808 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender.go
@@ -2301,7 +2301,7 @@ func (ds *DistSender) sendToReplicas(
 		metrics:                &ds.metrics,
 		dontConsiderConnHealth: ds.dontConsiderConnHealth,
 	}
-	transport, err := ds.transportFactory(opts, replicas)
+	transport, err := ds.transportFactory(opts, replicas.AsReplicaSet())
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_ambiguous_test.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_ambiguous_test.go
index 017aa011b695..771348c949c7 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_ambiguous_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_ambiguous_test.go
@@ -297,7 +297,7 @@ func TestTransactionUnexpectedlyCommitted(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	getInterceptingTransportFactory := func(nID roachpb.NodeID) func(kvcoord.TransportFactory) kvcoord.TransportFactory {
 		return func(factory kvcoord.TransportFactory) kvcoord.TransportFactory {
-			return func(options kvcoord.SendOptions, slice kvcoord.ReplicaSlice) (kvcoord.Transport, error) {
+			return func(options kvcoord.SendOptions, slice roachpb.ReplicaSet) (kvcoord.Transport, error) {
 				transport, tErr := factory(options, slice)
 				interceptor := &interceptingTransport{
 					Transport: transport,
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed.go
index ef1946ea4e86..06c352dfe9cc 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed.go
@@ -756,7 +756,7 @@ func newTransportForRange(
 	}
 	replicas.OptimizeReplicaOrder(ds.st, ds.nodeIDGetter(), ds.healthFunc, ds.latencyFunc, ds.locality)
 	opts := SendOptions{class: defRangefeedConnClass}
-	return ds.transportFactory(opts, replicas)
+	return ds.transportFactory(opts, replicas.AsReplicaSet())
 }
 
 // makeRangeFeedRequest constructs kvpb.RangeFeedRequest for specified span and
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed_mock_test.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed_mock_test.go
index 1d0688206e86..cb8be6a2e168 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed_mock_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed_mock_test.go
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ func TestDistSenderRangeFeedRetryOnTransportErrors(t *testing.T) {
 						NodeDescs:       g,
 						RPCRetryOptions: &retry.Options{MaxRetries: 10},
 						Stopper:         stopper,
-						TransportFactory: func(options SendOptions, slice ReplicaSlice) (Transport, error) {
+						TransportFactory: func(options SendOptions, slice roachpb.ReplicaSet) (Transport, error) {
 							return transport, nil
 						},
 						RangeDescriptorDB: rangeDB,
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed_test.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed_test.go
index bc2eb068df5e..2075e3b0cd23 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed_test.go
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ func makeTransportFactory(
 	rfStreamEnabled bool, counts *internalClientCounts, wrapFn wrapRangeFeedClientFn,
 ) func(kvcoord.TransportFactory) kvcoord.TransportFactory {
 	return func(factory kvcoord.TransportFactory) kvcoord.TransportFactory {
-		return func(options kvcoord.SendOptions, slice kvcoord.ReplicaSlice) (kvcoord.Transport, error) {
+		return func(options kvcoord.SendOptions, slice roachpb.ReplicaSet) (kvcoord.Transport, error) {
 			transport, err := factory(options, slice)
 			if err != nil {
 				return nil, err
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_test.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_test.go
index 2336a22274b8..96b17cd2223e 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_test.go
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ var stubRPCSendFn simpleSendFn = func(
 func adaptSimpleTransport(fn simpleSendFn) TransportFactory {
 	return func(
 		_ SendOptions,
-		replicas ReplicaSlice,
+		replicas roachpb.ReplicaSet,
 	) (Transport, error) {
 		return &simpleTransportAdapter{
 			fn:       fn,
@@ -419,7 +419,7 @@ func TestSendRPCOrder(t *testing.T) {
 	var verifyCall func(SendOptions, []roachpb.ReplicaDescriptor) error
 
 	var transportFactory TransportFactory = func(
-		opts SendOptions, replicas ReplicaSlice,
+		opts SendOptions, replicas roachpb.ReplicaSet,
 	) (Transport, error) {
 		reps := replicas.Descriptors()
 		if err := verifyCall(opts, reps); err != nil {
@@ -3384,7 +3384,7 @@ func TestSenderTransport(t *testing.T) {
 			) (r *kvpb.BatchResponse, e *kvpb.Error) {
 				return
 			},
-		))(SendOptions{}, ReplicaSlice{{}})
+		))(SendOptions{}, roachpb.MakeReplicaSet([]roachpb.ReplicaDescriptor{{}}))
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -4203,7 +4203,7 @@ func TestConnectionClass(t *testing.T) {
 	// class will capture the connection class used for the last transport
 	// created.
 	var class rpc.ConnectionClass
-	var transportFactory TransportFactory = func(opts SendOptions, replicas ReplicaSlice) (Transport, error) {
+	var transportFactory TransportFactory = func(opts SendOptions, replicas roachpb.ReplicaSet) (Transport, error) {
 		class = opts.class
 		return adaptSimpleTransport(
 			func(_ context.Context, ba *kvpb.BatchRequest) (*kvpb.BatchResponse, error) {
@@ -5472,7 +5472,7 @@ func TestDistSenderComputeNetworkCost(t *testing.T) {
 				tc.cfg.Stopper = stopper
 				tc.cfg.RangeDescriptorDB = rddb
 				tc.cfg.Settings = st
-				tc.cfg.TransportFactory = func(SendOptions, ReplicaSlice) (Transport, error) {
+				tc.cfg.TransportFactory = func(SendOptions, roachpb.ReplicaSet) (Transport, error) {
 					assert.Fail(t, "test should not try and use the transport factory")
 					return nil, nil
 				}
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/local_test_cluster_util.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/local_test_cluster_util.go
index bffb408877fc..ef74928c4336 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/local_test_cluster_util.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/local_test_cluster_util.go
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ func NewDistSenderForLocalTestCluster(
 		Stopper:            stopper,
 		RPCRetryOptions:    &retryOpts,
 		FirstRangeProvider: g,
-		TransportFactory: func(opts SendOptions, replicas ReplicaSlice) (Transport, error) {
+		TransportFactory: func(opts SendOptions, replicas roachpb.ReplicaSet) (Transport, error) {
 			transport, err := senderTransportFactory(opts, replicas)
 			if err != nil {
 				return nil, err
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/range_iter_test.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/range_iter_test.go
index 36f716134004..fb602a718f07 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/range_iter_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/range_iter_test.go
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ func init() {
 	alphaRangeDescriptorDB = mockRangeDescriptorDBForDescs(
 		append(alphaRangeDescriptors, TestMetaRangeDescriptor)...,
 	)
-	tf = func(options SendOptions, slice ReplicaSlice) (Transport, error) {
+	tf = func(options SendOptions, slice roachpb.ReplicaSet) (Transport, error) {
 		panic("transport not set up for use")
 	}
 }
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/replayed_commit_test.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/replayed_commit_test.go
index 58916c9d13ea..5de9cc688776 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/replayed_commit_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/replayed_commit_test.go
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ func TestCommitSanityCheckAssertionFiresOnUndetectedAmbiguousCommit(t *testing.T
 	}
 	args.ServerArgs.Knobs.KVClient = &kvcoord.ClientTestingKnobs{
 		TransportFactory: func(factory kvcoord.TransportFactory) kvcoord.TransportFactory {
-			return func(options kvcoord.SendOptions, slice kvcoord.ReplicaSlice) (kvcoord.Transport, error) {
+			return func(options kvcoord.SendOptions, slice roachpb.ReplicaSet) (kvcoord.Transport, error) {
 				tf, err := factory(options, slice)
 				if err != nil {
 					return nil, err
@@ -74,7 +74,6 @@ func TestCommitSanityCheckAssertionFiresOnUndetectedAmbiguousCommit(t *testing.T
 				}, nil
 
 			}
-
 		},
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/replica_slice.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/replica_slice.go
index 4b985c69d03e..846ac7db90c7 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/replica_slice.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/replica_slice.go
@@ -266,6 +266,10 @@ func (rs ReplicaSlice) OptimizeReplicaOrder(
 	})
 }
 
+func (rs ReplicaSlice) AsReplicaSet() roachpb.ReplicaSet {
+	return roachpb.MakeReplicaSet(rs.Descriptors())
+}
+
 // Descriptors returns the ReplicaDescriptors inside the ReplicaSlice.
 func (rs ReplicaSlice) Descriptors() []roachpb.ReplicaDescriptor {
 	reps := make([]roachpb.ReplicaDescriptor, len(rs))
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/send_test.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/send_test.go
index 4e7a8164fad2..db83749eeca1 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/send_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/send_test.go
@@ -153,13 +153,13 @@ func TestSendToOneClient(t *testing.T) {
 // firstNErrorTransport is a mock transport that sends an error on
 // requests to the first N addresses, then succeeds.
 type firstNErrorTransport struct {
-	replicas  ReplicaSlice
+	replicas  roachpb.ReplicaSet
 	numErrors int
 	numSent   int
 }
 
 func (f *firstNErrorTransport) IsExhausted() bool {
-	return f.numSent >= len(f.replicas)
+	return f.numSent >= len(f.replicas.Descriptors())
 }
 
 func (f *firstNErrorTransport) Release() {}
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ func (f *firstNErrorTransport) NextInternalClient(
 }
 
 func (f *firstNErrorTransport) NextReplica() roachpb.ReplicaDescriptor {
-	return f.replicas[f.numSent].ReplicaDescriptor
+	return f.replicas.Descriptors()[f.numSent]
 }
 
 func (f *firstNErrorTransport) SkipReplica() {
@@ -241,7 +241,7 @@ func TestComplexScenarios(t *testing.T) {
 			t,
 			func(
 				_ SendOptions,
-				replicas ReplicaSlice,
+				replicas roachpb.ReplicaSet,
 			) (Transport, error) {
 				return &firstNErrorTransport{
 					replicas:  replicas,
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport.go
index 7e9a9206789a..130a813b159c 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport.go
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ type SendOptions struct {
 //
 // The caller is responsible for ordering the replicas in the slice according to
 // the order in which the should be tried.
-type TransportFactory func(SendOptions, ReplicaSlice) (Transport, error)
+type TransportFactory func(SendOptions, roachpb.ReplicaSet) (Transport, error)
 
 // Transport objects can send RPCs to one or more replicas of a range.
 // All calls to Transport methods are made from a single thread, so
@@ -101,24 +101,24 @@ const (
 // During race builds, we wrap this to hold on to and read all obtained
 // requests in a tight loop, exposing data races; see transport_race.go.
 func grpcTransportFactoryImpl(
-	opts SendOptions, nodeDialer *nodedialer.Dialer, rs ReplicaSlice,
+	opts SendOptions, nodeDialer *nodedialer.Dialer, rs roachpb.ReplicaSet,
 ) (Transport, error) {
 	transport := grpcTransportPool.Get().(*grpcTransport)
 	// Grab the saved slice memory from grpcTransport.
 	replicas := transport.replicas
 
-	if cap(replicas) < len(rs) {
-		replicas = make([]roachpb.ReplicaDescriptor, len(rs))
+	descriptors := rs.Descriptors()
+	if cap(replicas) < len(descriptors) {
+		replicas = make([]roachpb.ReplicaDescriptor, len(descriptors))
 	} else {
-		replicas = replicas[:len(rs)]
+		replicas = replicas[:len(descriptors)]
 	}
 
 	// We'll map the index of the replica descriptor in its slice to its health.
 	var health util.FastIntMap
-	for i := range rs {
-		r := &rs[i]
-		replicas[i] = r.ReplicaDescriptor
-		healthy := nodeDialer.ConnHealth(r.NodeID, opts.class) == nil
+	for i, desc := range descriptors {
+		replicas[i] = desc
+		healthy := nodeDialer.ConnHealth(desc.NodeID, opts.class) == nil
 		if healthy {
 			health.Set(i, healthHealthy)
 		} else {
@@ -317,9 +317,9 @@ func (h *byHealth) Less(i, j int) bool {
 // Transport. This is useful for tests that want to use DistSender
 // without a full RPC stack.
 func SenderTransportFactory(tracer *tracing.Tracer, sender kv.Sender) TransportFactory {
-	return func(_ SendOptions, replicas ReplicaSlice) (Transport, error) {
+	return func(_ SendOptions, replicas roachpb.ReplicaSet) (Transport, error) {
 		// Always send to the first replica.
-		replica := replicas[0].ReplicaDescriptor
+		replica := replicas.First()
 		return &senderTransport{tracer, sender, replica, false}, nil
 	}
 }
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport_race.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport_race.go
index 1033e4cc39bf..ba5b804a037c 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport_race.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport_race.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/kv/kvpb"
+	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/roachpb"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/rpc/nodedialer"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/log"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/timeutil"
@@ -92,7 +93,7 @@ func (tr raceTransport) SendNext(
 // a) the server doesn't hold on to any memory, and
 // b) the server doesn't mutate the request
 func GRPCTransportFactory(nodeDialer *nodedialer.Dialer) TransportFactory {
-	return func(opts SendOptions, replicas ReplicaSlice) (Transport, error) {
+	return func(opts SendOptions, replicas roachpb.ReplicaSet) (Transport, error) {
 		if atomic.AddInt32(&running, 1) <= 1 {
 			if err := nodeDialer.Stopper().RunAsyncTask(
 				context.TODO(), "transport racer", func(ctx context.Context) {
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport_regular.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport_regular.go
index b20c16280232..82829cfae800 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport_regular.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport_regular.go
@@ -13,11 +13,14 @@
 
 package kvcoord
 
-import "github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/rpc/nodedialer"
+import (
+	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/roachpb"
+	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/rpc/nodedialer"
+)
 
 // GRPCTransportFactory is the default TransportFactory, using GRPC.
 func GRPCTransportFactory(nodeDialer *nodedialer.Dialer) TransportFactory {
-	return func(options SendOptions, slice ReplicaSlice) (Transport, error) {
+	return func(options SendOptions, slice roachpb.ReplicaSet) (Transport, error) {
 		return grpcTransportFactoryImpl(options, nodeDialer, slice)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/pkg/roachpb/metadata_replicas.go b/pkg/roachpb/metadata_replicas.go
index 9c764568c9e0..aeb322d97d5d 100644
--- a/pkg/roachpb/metadata_replicas.go
+++ b/pkg/roachpb/metadata_replicas.go
@@ -47,6 +47,10 @@ func (d ReplicaSet) String() string {
 	return redact.StringWithoutMarkers(d)
 }
 
+func (d ReplicaSet) First() ReplicaDescriptor {
+	return d.wrapped[0]
+}
+
 // Descriptors returns every replica descriptor in the set, including both voter
 // replicas and learner replicas. Voter replicas are ordered first in the
 // returned slice.
diff --git a/pkg/sql/ambiguous_commit_test.go b/pkg/sql/ambiguous_commit_test.go
index 54249166032a..18b8ae5dbfac 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/ambiguous_commit_test.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/ambiguous_commit_test.go
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ func TestAmbiguousCommit(t *testing.T) {
 
 		params.Knobs.KVClient = &kvcoord.ClientTestingKnobs{
 			TransportFactory: func(factory kvcoord.TransportFactory) kvcoord.TransportFactory {
-				return func(options kvcoord.SendOptions, slice kvcoord.ReplicaSlice) (kvcoord.Transport, error) {
+				return func(options kvcoord.SendOptions, slice roachpb.ReplicaSet) (kvcoord.Transport, error) {
 					transport, err := factory(options, slice)
 					return &interceptingTransport{
 						Transport: transport,