diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender.go
index 7024122177c5..a177c1b744c8 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender.go
@@ -2309,7 +2309,7 @@ func (ds *DistSender) sendToReplicas(
 		metrics:                &ds.metrics,
 		dontConsiderConnHealth: ds.dontConsiderConnHealth,
 	}
-	transport, err := ds.transportFactory(opts, ds.nodeDialer, replicas)
+	transport, err := ds.transportFactory(opts, ds.nodeDialer, 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 34c19b9924b0..df2946095cd5 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) kvcoord.TransportFactory {
-		return func(options kvcoord.SendOptions, dialer *nodedialer.Dialer, slice kvcoord.ReplicaSlice) (kvcoord.Transport, error) {
+		return func(options kvcoord.SendOptions, dialer *nodedialer.Dialer, slice roachpb.ReplicaSet) (kvcoord.Transport, error) {
 			transport, tErr := kvcoord.GRPCTransportFactory(options, dialer, 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 e89be712c8c7..513f6cdf3fae 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed.go
@@ -766,7 +766,7 @@ func newTransportForRange(
 	}
 	replicas.OptimizeReplicaOrder(ds.st, ds.nodeIDGetter(), ds.healthFunc, latencyFn, ds.locality)
 	opts := SendOptions{class: connectionClass(&ds.st.SV)}
-	return ds.transportFactory(opts, ds.nodeDialer, replicas)
+	return ds.transportFactory(opts, ds.nodeDialer, 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 f967a97521a3..1d989a99416d 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed_mock_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed_mock_test.go
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ func TestDistSenderRangeFeedRetryOnTransportErrors(t *testing.T) {
 						RPCRetryOptions: &retry.Options{MaxRetries: 10},
 						RPCContext:      rpcContext,
 						TestingKnobs: ClientTestingKnobs{
-							TransportFactory: func(SendOptions, *nodedialer.Dialer, ReplicaSlice) (Transport, error) {
+							TransportFactory: func(SendOptions, *nodedialer.Dialer, roachpb.ReplicaSet) (Transport, error) {
 								return transport, nil
 							},
 						},
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed_test.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed_test.go
index 392ee42b260c..3b89baa2311d 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_rangefeed_test.go
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ func makeTransportFactory(
 	return func(
 		options kvcoord.SendOptions,
 		dialer *nodedialer.Dialer,
-		slice kvcoord.ReplicaSlice,
+		slice roachpb.ReplicaSet,
 	) (kvcoord.Transport, error) {
 		transport, err := kvcoord.GRPCTransportFactory(options, dialer, slice)
 		if err != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_test.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_test.go
index 4dd2d15b6368..9d29f34c9236 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/dist_sender_test.go
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ func adaptSimpleTransport(fn simpleSendFn) TransportFactory {
 	return func(
 		_ SendOptions,
 		_ *nodedialer.Dialer,
-		replicas ReplicaSlice,
+		replicas roachpb.ReplicaSet,
 	) (Transport, error) {
 		return &simpleTransportAdapter{
 			fn:       fn,
@@ -418,7 +418,7 @@ func TestSendRPCOrder(t *testing.T) {
 	var verifyCall func(SendOptions, []roachpb.ReplicaDescriptor) error
 
 	var transportFactory TransportFactory = func(
-		opts SendOptions, dialer *nodedialer.Dialer, replicas ReplicaSlice,
+		opts SendOptions, dialer *nodedialer.Dialer, replicas roachpb.ReplicaSet,
 	) (Transport, error) {
 		reps := replicas.Descriptors()
 		if err := verifyCall(opts, reps); err != nil {
@@ -3483,7 +3483,7 @@ func TestSenderTransport(t *testing.T) {
 			) (r *kvpb.BatchResponse, e *kvpb.Error) {
 				return
 			},
-		))(SendOptions{}, &nodedialer.Dialer{}, ReplicaSlice{{}})
+		))(SendOptions{}, &nodedialer.Dialer{}, roachpb.MakeReplicaSet([]roachpb.ReplicaDescriptor{{}}))
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -4318,7 +4318,7 @@ func TestConnectionClass(t *testing.T) {
 	// created.
 	var class rpc.ConnectionClass
 	var transportFactory TransportFactory = func(
-		opts SendOptions, dialer *nodedialer.Dialer, replicas ReplicaSlice,
+		opts SendOptions, dialer *nodedialer.Dialer, replicas roachpb.ReplicaSet,
 	) (Transport, error) {
 		class = opts.class
 		return adaptSimpleTransport(
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/local_test_cluster_util.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/local_test_cluster_util.go
index 975747c689ab..4904fdfc2767 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/local_test_cluster_util.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/local_test_cluster_util.go
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ func NewDistSenderForLocalTestCluster(
 			TransportFactory: func(
 				opts SendOptions,
 				nodeDialer *nodedialer.Dialer,
-				replicas ReplicaSlice,
+				replicas roachpb.ReplicaSet,
 			) (Transport, error) {
 				transport, err := senderTransportFactory(opts, nodeDialer, replicas)
 				if err != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/replayed_commit_test.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/replayed_commit_test.go
index 2276998b1da2..8158ea0b034d 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/replayed_commit_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/replayed_commit_test.go
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ func TestCommitSanityCheckAssertionFiresOnUndetectedAmbiguousCommit(t *testing.T
 		TransportFactory: func(
 			options kvcoord.SendOptions,
 			dialer *nodedialer.Dialer,
-			slice kvcoord.ReplicaSlice,
+			slice roachpb.ReplicaSet,
 		) (kvcoord.Transport, error) {
 			tf, err := kvcoord.GRPCTransportFactory(options, dialer, slice)
 			if err != 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 48d7849a7d43..d072055756c0 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/send_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/send_test.go
@@ -154,13 +154,13 @@ 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() {}
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ 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() {
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ func TestComplexScenarios(t *testing.T) {
 			func(
 				_ SendOptions,
 				_ *nodedialer.Dialer,
-				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 d40d3134174a..4368956a9699 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport.go
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ 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, *nodedialer.Dialer, ReplicaSlice,
+	SendOptions, *nodedialer.Dialer, roachpb.ReplicaSet,
 ) (Transport, error)
 
 // Transport objects can send RPCs to one or more replicas of a range.
@@ -103,24 +103,24 @@ 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 {
@@ -320,10 +320,10 @@ func (h *byHealth) Less(i, j int) bool {
 // without a full RPC stack.
 func SenderTransportFactory(tracer *tracing.Tracer, sender kv.Sender) TransportFactory {
 	return func(
-		_ SendOptions, _ *nodedialer.Dialer, replicas ReplicaSlice,
+		_ SendOptions, _ *nodedialer.Dialer, 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 eac19cef5ac5..ca6fe2548f6f 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(
-	opts SendOptions, nodeDialer *nodedialer.Dialer, replicas ReplicaSlice,
+	opts SendOptions, nodeDialer *nodedialer.Dialer, replicas roachpb.ReplicaSet,
 ) (Transport, error) {
 	if atomic.AddInt32(&running, 1) <= 1 {
 		if err := nodeDialer.Stopper().RunAsyncTask(
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport_regular.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport_regular.go
index 84e4b35790dd..7e3220254836 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(
-	opts SendOptions, nodeDialer *nodedialer.Dialer, replicas ReplicaSlice,
+	opts SendOptions, nodeDialer *nodedialer.Dialer, replicas roachpb.ReplicaSet,
 ) (Transport, error) {
 	return grpcTransportFactoryImpl(opts, nodeDialer, replicas)
 }
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 52fd6fd31df7..ea6a914bbfc2 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/ambiguous_commit_test.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/ambiguous_commit_test.go
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ func TestAmbiguousCommit(t *testing.T) {
 
 		params.Knobs.KVClient = &kvcoord.ClientTestingKnobs{
 			TransportFactory: func(
-				opts kvcoord.SendOptions, nodeDialer *nodedialer.Dialer, replicas kvcoord.ReplicaSlice,
+				opts kvcoord.SendOptions, nodeDialer *nodedialer.Dialer, replicas roachpb.ReplicaSet,
 			) (kvcoord.Transport, error) {
 				transport, err := kvcoord.GRPCTransportFactory(opts, nodeDialer, replicas)
 				return &interceptingTransport{