diff --git a/clientutil/backend.go b/clientutil/backend.go
index cd06a19a0371eebe0f8f89a2806d798938b976aa..c63afa7869527d00bc68381ce402544a1c731873 100644
--- a/clientutil/backend.go
+++ b/clientutil/backend.go
@@ -49,7 +49,10 @@ func NewBackend(config *BackendConfig) (Backend, error) {
 	}
 
 	if config.Sharded {
-		return &replicatedClient{newHTTPClient(u, tlsConfig)}, nil
+		return &replicatedClient{
+			u: u,
+			c: newHTTPClient(u, tlsConfig),
+		}, nil
 	}
 	return &shardedClient{
 		baseURL:   u,